THE simple pleasures of a night out at an old-time variety show are cheerfully illustrated in a yellowing theatre programme kindly forwarded by a Prescot reader.

I wonder if there is anyone about today who can recall the Prescot Picture Palace and Theatre of Varieties (how's that for a mouthful?) which operated in Kemble Street and offered a peculiar mix of filmed and live entertainment, twice nightly on six days of the week, with a matinee on Saturdays.

With seat prices ranging from tuppence to ninepence (the ninepennies bookable in advance) the family audience could sample the likes of Jack Seymour . . . "in some funniosities of smoke and hat manipulation"; the mind-reading St Clairs; burlesque comic Fred Knowles; and saucily-titled comedy sketches such as 'Bloomer Yawns.'

In between, the patrons could catch up on current affairs through Pathe's Gazette beamed on to the flickering cine screen.

ANYONE else able to add a few extra details to this bygone showbiz topic? Then please drop me a line.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.