What Go's Bang In The Night
The Palace Theatre has proved itself to be a source of entertainment and inspiration for nearly 100 years and many of its visitors are comfortably familiar with the infamous rake and beautifully adorned proscenium that has secured its Grade II listing. This is a situation that will hopefully continue on towards its centenary anniversary and beyond and the most recent offerings from beneath the gilded arch will be touched on later.
It is also important and currently relevant to look beyond the strong physical emblem of the stage that dominates the image of any theatre when instantaneously imagined and to consider all other aspects of the theatre as a building with history. This image can be deconstructed by those who work in and around the building itself and are aware of the other departments that exist behind the scenes to ensure the smooth running and coherent presentation to the paying customers to any public performance venue. From dressing rooms to sub stages, lighting boxes to green rooms, a theatre can house many different areas of activity and creates their own history.
It is history, for which the Palace Theatre is heavily steeped in that attracted the first of many participants in the (currently) private paranormal investigations. Societies such as the North Essex Ghost Hunters, Clear Sight and Aspire has spent selected nights camping in and around many parts of the Palace Theatre in order to find out the spiritual history of this fine old theatre. Equipped with high tech recording implements, and with the guidance and interaction with spiritualists and mediums, there has been discoveries of the rich and complex ethereal companions that reside in the Palace with as much frequency as the staff and regular punters. The first investigations into this fascinating aspect of the theatre took place last year in the witching hours of various Saturday nights and saw activity throughout the building that does not usually witness such excitement and enjoyment at that particular time of night.
This activity involved members of the aforementioned societies stationed in turn in various parts of the building including the dressing rooms, orchestra pit, Dixon studio and gallery. They recorded observations and ghostly activity in these locations and logged various spiritual interpretations and recordings ,which included unseen footsteps and noises near the dressing rooms as well as possible explanations for infamous aromas and attention seeking auditorium seats! Various spiritual presences have been questioned, challenged and assisted to their natural resting place throughout these procedures and the society members also experienced an unexpected attraction and empathy to the Palace Theatre itself. They even stated, in their last visit, that this particular building seemed to have an irresistible lure for them which are rare in their experiences.
The visits from such societies are treated with as complementary so that more information about this local cultural bolt hole can be revealed but there are preliminary plans to disclose revelations about their discoveries and experiences about the Palace and their lives as channels to the great unknown. This would take the form of an open event to be held at the Palace later in the year where ticket holders can take part in understanding and discovering a richer history of this central performance venue - watch this space!
Southend Spyglass