Grand Central’s The Dome venue re-opens
Theatre refurbs in this city are like buses. You wait for ages, then they all come at once. It's a welcome return, this month, to The Dome at Grand Central.
A rather gorgeous, and shamefully neglected cornerstone of the city’s entertainment circuit opens its doors again next month. The 1200 capacity space, right at the heart of the warren of shops and boutiques at Grand Central on Renshaw Street, is the site of a former Methodist Church and a grade two listed building.
The Dome will offer a mixed bag of live performance from touring bands, theatre, stand-up comedy and variety nights. It used to be the venue for the Rawhide comedy nights, and SevenStreets remembers a particularly brilliant Echo and the Bunnymen gig a few killing moons ago. It is, in short, a space not short of atmosphere. And we’re not just talking the Emo mist that hovers outside its portals.
Director Sean Finnerty said “This is a five year dream come true for me, it was a crying shame to see this stunning venue decaying and not put to good use and I was determined to do something about it, it took five years to secure the venue and work began a year ago. Along with the building owner Jerry O’Brien, we have put in a lot of time, energy and lifelong savings to get the venue back to public use”.
The owners want a space that encourages and develops new local talent, as well as providing a space for those already established in the industry nationwide. There’s an open day on Sunday 16th October from 1-5pm for promoters and festival organisers to take a butcher’s.
Sean Finnerty continues “This area will be transformed in a year or so time, with Central Village coming to life between Bold Street and Renshaw Street and I want The Dome to be a big part of the regeneration of this area too. There is a gap for a venue of this size in the city centre and I am already impressed with the enquiries coming from local, national and international promoters to book the venue”.
We’re impressed. The city’s short of medium sized venues like this, and with the Brian Epstein (Neptune) theatre’s resurgence looks like we’re on the way to being one of those capital of culture type places. Which is nice.
The Dome (Grand Central),
35 Renshaw Street, Liverpool, L1 2SF
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