Liverpool

Come From Away

★★★★★

Welcome to the Rock, specifically to the town of Gander in Newfoundland, the easternmost province in Canada. The town is small and only has around 10,000 inhabitants, but there is an international airport; a leftover from the days when flying transatlantic involved refuelling mid-flight. Come From Away tells the story of how this small town in Canada welcomed 38 planes full of people (approximately 7,000 people)when the United States airspace was closed in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Unfortunate

★★★★☆

So you think Ursula is the villain of The Little Mermaid? How unfortunate, you’re about to discover you have been lied to your entire life! Written by Robyn Grant and Daniel Foxx, Unfortunate is part origin story, part redemption arc and a whole lot of chaotic, camp brilliance. In a similar way to how Wicked re-wrote the tale of the Wicked Witch, Unfortunate takes audiences through Ursula’s life to show that she isn’t all bad.

Pride and Prejudice

★★★★☆

Imaginarium Theatre are a community arts organisation who deliver educational programmes, schools outreach and free youth theatre classes across the Merseyside region. Every year, their Community Ensemble stage a production in The Cockpit Theatre at Shakespeare North Playhouse. This year’s production was a modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice by playwright Rob Brannen. The basics of the story remain unchanged; Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy meet and overcome their initial dislike for one another to eventually fall in love after putting their individual preconceptions aside.

2024 Upcoming Shows

Happy New Year! With a new year comes a new set of productions within the local area, so we thought we’d share details of some of the productions which will be coming to the local area in 2024 that we are most excited about. With a few productions, particularly those at ATG Theatres, the touring productions are on in both Liverpool and Manchester at different times of the year. This means we’re able to look at what dates work best for us, or to see productions multiple times.

Wizard of Oz

★★★☆☆

Flying into Liverpool from sell out performances at the London Palladium, musical classic The Wizard of Oz has been given a contemporary twist complete with additional songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Starring Aston Merrygold of JLS fame as Tin Man and local legend / RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner The Vivienne as the Wicked Witch of the West, this is a colourful, technological masterpiece with stunning sets and costumes.

Cinderella Rock 'n' Roll Panto

★★★★★

The yearly rock ’n’ roll panto at the Everyman has become an institution of Liverpool in the same way as the Superlambbanana and purple wheelie bins are icons of the city. This year’s panto is Cinderella, but with a clever twist. Written by Luke Barnes and directed by James Baker, the show is a refreshing interpretation of the traditional fairytale. This Cinderella isn’t a damsel in distress, she’s her own comic book hero delivering a message of self-love and how being true to yourself is the most important thing.

I Should Be So Lucky

★★☆☆☆

Stock Aitken Waterman are synonymous with the music of the 80’s. In 1989 alone, they were responsible for 27% of the UK music singles market sales! They are even responsible for the global phenomenon that is Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up. Now, Debbie Isitt who is best known for creating The Nativity films and musical has taken some of Stock Aitken Waterman’s best loved works to create the new musical I Should Be So Lucky.

First Folio Talk by Ben Crystal

★★★★★

As part of the First Folio exhibition currently on at Shakespeare North Playhouse, Associate Artist Ben Crystal has delivered an absolutely fascinating insight into how the First Folio was made, and what makes the First Folio such an important piece of both literature and history. During the Lights On / Lights Off shows which Ben directed and performed in, he gave brief background details into each of the excerpts of the plays which we both really enjoyed.

First Folio Exhibition

★★★★★

400 years ago, just 7 years after Shakespeare’s death, the First Folio containing 36 of Shakespeare’s plays was published. Now, to coincide with the European premiere of ‘The Book of Will’, Shakespeare North Playhouse have an exhibition all about the First Folio, which includes an actual copy of the First Folio which is on loan from The British Library. Forming part of The British Library’s Treasures on Tour programme, the First Folio on display is The Grenville First Folio which was bequeathed to the library by Thomas Grenville in 1846.