Every year, the waterfront of Liverpool is transformed into an outdoor exhibition of light. Artists from around the world bring fantastic light sculptures to different spots around the city to provide a walking trail of art. For 2023, the River of Light is embracing the legacy of Eurovision 2023 with a range of illuminated art pieces that draw on Eurovision and the connection the people of the city will forever have with Ukraine and the rest of Europe.
As part of the celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio, Shakespeare North Playhouse are staging Lauren Gunderson’s The Book of Will. Telling the tale of how the First Folio came to be, and how so many of Shakespeare’s plays only survive due to the efforts of those who knew him best, The Book of Will is a fantastic co-production with Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and Octagon Theatre Bolton.
High Times and Dirty Monsters is like no show we have seen before. Combining acting, dancing, and beatboxing, this fast paced, episodic production is raw and hard-hitting. A collaboration by Liverpool based 20 Stories High, Graeae Theatre Company, Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse and LEEDS 2023, this show is the output of workshops that have been held throughout the last year asking what’s good (the high times) and what’s bad (the dirty monsters) about being young in 2023.
If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if you crossed The Book of Mormon with Spitting Image, and then added a smidge of Harry Hill’s TV Burp insanity, then Tony! The Tony Blair Rock Opera has the answer! Telling the story of former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s rise to power, and his transformation from pop-rock hippy front man of Ugly Rumours to a warmongering multimillionaire, this hilarious musical comedy is written by Harry Hill and Steve Brown.
Hidden in plain sight is a unique way to experience Liverpool; from the underground! For just £10 per person, Mersey Travel offer a unique tour of the Queensway Tunnel which runs under the River Mersey and connects Liverpool and Birkenhead together. Lasting approximately 2 hours and limited to 20 people at a time, the tour takes in the original control room, giant ventilation fans, the rescue areas underneath the roadway, a section of the Old George Dock, and even out onto a gangway of the tunnel whilst cars are driving through.
If you have never been in a theatre where the end of the show is met by massive amounts of tears by the audience and a standing ovation for a phenomenal cast, then you probably haven’t been to watch I, Daniel Blake. Based on the Ken Loach directed film, this stage production has been adapted by Dave Johns who starred in the original film as the titular character, and is a co-production between tiny dragon Productions andEnglish Touring Theatre, in association with Northern Stage.
Birkenhead born playwright Michael Wynne has a Midas Touch when it comes to creating thought provoking plays that perfectly encapsulate Merseyside family life. His latest offering Cuckoo is absolutely no exception. Created in partnership with the Royal Court Theatre London, BAFTA and Olivier Award winner Wynne has created a dark comedy that showcases multi-generational family dynamics, the different ways of coping in an unpredictable world, and the different responses people have to societal issues.
Tapping it’s way into Liverpool for a limited time, the UK and Ireland tour of 42nd Street brought Depression-era Broadway glamour in a way that only this classical musical within a musical can. Based on a 1933 film, which itself is based on an earlier novel, 42nd Street as a stage show originated in the 1980’s and features well-known musical numbers such as We’re In The Money, Keep Young And Beautiful, and the eponymous 42nd Street.
If you have ever been shopping at Liverpool One, you may have noticed that in between the Starbucks and John Lewis is a viewpoint down into the old dock that the entire shopping centre is built on. But did you know that you can go on a full tour of the remaining dock with Liverpool Maritime Museum? The tour tells the story of the world’s first commercial enclosed wet dock, and the impact that this had on the development of the city of Liverpool.