Theatre in Liverpool
Theatre show previews and reviews
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Bleak, Brilliant And Beautifully Acted – Boys From The Blackstuff At The Royal Court
In the lead-up to the new stage adaptation of Boys from the Blackstuff, Alan Bleasdale’s said: “Things haven’t changed, it was unemployment then and people signing on…the dreadful thing is bad things are still happening to the same people. Is the quality of life for people like us from where we come from not important?” Writer James Graham, known for hit TV drama Sherwood, about the long consequences of the 1984 miners’ strike, has collaborated with…
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Ken Loach’s Acclaimed Film I, Daniel Blake Takes Centre Stage in Liverpool
The award-winning I, Daniel Blake has been adapted for stage by Dave Johns, who played the title in the original film. More relevant now than ever, the show exposes the stark reality behind the cost-of-living crisis and is sure to ignite people’s anger when it comes to Liverpool Playhouse later this month. Dave Johns is a multi-award-winning actor and stand-up comic who has written for theatre and radio, including the stage adaptation of Stephen King’s…
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Irvine Welsh’s Porno Stage Adaptation Is Coming To Liverpool This October
A new stage adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s Porno is coming to Liverpool’s Olympia this October, follows a sell-out run at last year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Fifteen years after Trainspotting, what has become of Renton, Sickboy, Begbie & Spud? Disturbing, shocking & extremely funny. Contains swearing, sexual language, debauchery, drug use and even more swearing. As if you’d expect anything else. Irvine Welsh’s Porno is a full-length stage adaptation of the novel by the same name, which sold…
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Final Programme Announced For Liverpool Theatre Festival In July
The final four shows have been announced for this year’s 11-day Liverpool Theatre Festival which takes place next month with a brand new Summer date. The full programme features 18 shows spanning 24 performances throughout the festival, with genres including comedy, drama, music, opera, musical theatre, drag – and the strongest family line-up to date. The fourth annual Liverpool Theatre Festival takes place between Thursday 20 July and Sunday 30 July 2023. Once again, it will take place outdoors at St…
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Family Programme Announced For Annual Liverpool Theatre Festival
Liverpool Theatre Festival returns in 2023 with a brand new date to coincide with the school Summer holidays – and this year the programme features nine family shows to wow youngsters of all ages. The event usually takes place in September, but this year it’s been brought forward. Spanning 11 days, it will play its part in entertaining children of all ages during the school Summer holidays. The nine-strong line-up of family shows include specially…
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Full Line-Up Revealed For Physical Fest 2023
The full programme of performance, events and workshops for Physical Fest in Liverpool this summer has been announced. The international celebration – taking place from 29 June to 7 July 2023 at venues including Liverpool Everyman, Unity Theatre, and Invisible Wind Factory – is one of only two dedicated physical theatre festivals in the UK. Running since 2005, Physical Fest attracts participants from all over the world with a diverse programme shining a light on physical theatre in all its forms. The festival begins with programme curators Tmesis Theatre and…
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Liverpool Theatre Festival Announce More Shows For Summer
The next phase of shows for the fourth annual Liverpool Theatre Festival have been announced and include a tribute to music powerhouse Gladys Knight, a comedy murder mystery, and a William Shakespeare play for children. Liverpool Theatre Festival takes place this Summer, running for 11 days during the school holidays between Thursday 20 July and Sunday 30 July 2023. Once again, it will take place at St Luke’s Bombed Out Church in Liverpool city centre. This is a new date…
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Liverpool’s Pioneering Physical Fest Launches With Powerful Celtic Folklore Tale
Liverpool’s international physical theatre festival – Physical Fest – will return to the city this summer, launching with a brand new and ambitious production at the Everyman. Organisers Tmesis Theatre are delighted to be launching the 2023 edition of Physical Fest with SealSkin – a show combining highly skilled physicality, Scottish folklore, and live music – running from 29 June to 1 July. Founded in 2005, Physical Fest is a renowned Liverpool-based festival, and one of only two dedicated physical theatre festivals in the UK. It…
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REVIEW: ‘A Thong for Europe’ At Royal Court, Liverpool
It’s 20 years since Liverpool, the World Capital of Pop, has had any meaningful involvement in Eurovision – and that was, alas, when Jemini totalled ‘nul points’ at the event in Latvia. This year, of course, the campest joyous annual shindig is in Liverpool and as the city ramps up towards the big event, you would do well to visit the Royal Court to see A Thong for Europe, the perfect pre-party livener. There will…
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imitating the dog’s Innovative Macbeth Puts Stunning Visuals And Immersive Storytelling Centre Stage
William Shakespeare’s tale of ambition and betrayal, featuring live video feeds, projection mapping and a dynamic soundscape, comes to the Liverpool Playhouse from Tuesday 25 to Saturday 29 April 2023, in a bold new retelling of Macbeth transports audiences to a dystopian future where power and desire collide in a struggle for survival. This pioneering production of Macbeth by imitating the dog follows their thought-provoking and boundary-pushing productions at the Playhouse, including Heart of Darkness, Night of the Living Dead – Remix and Dracula: The…
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Hit Musical Hamilton Is Coming To Liverpool
The multi-award-winning, smash-hit musical Hamilton is coming to Liverpool in May 2025. Hamilton is a musical about the life of Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. The show is written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and features a score that blends hip-hop, R&B, jazz, and Broadway. Hamilton has been a huge success since it premiered on Broadway in 2015. The show has won 11 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and has been…
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Liverpool Theatre Festival Returns For 2023
Organisers of Liverpool Theatre Festival have revealed plans for this year’s headline and fringe events – with the first six shows going on sale. The fourth annual Liverpool Theatre Festival is back with a new date – this year taking place in Summer 2023. While new works and fringe event Little LTF will go ahead in Autumn 2023. The changes will ensure there is no clash with the city’s Eurovision celebrations. Both events will once again take place at St…
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Dr Adam Perchard’s Bathtime For Britain Is An Unmissable Piece of Theatre Coming To The Epstein Theatre In March
Wash away the last of the pandemic blues with a non-stop parade of big hits, belly laughs, and booming vocals from queer cabaret legend Dr Adam Perchard as the world premiere tour of their fabulous new show Dr Adam Perchard’s Bathtime For Britain heads to the Epstein Theatre in Liverpool on Thursday 16 March 2023. Cabaret icon Dr Adam Perchard lost all of their work almost overnight when the pandemic hit. Broken-hearted, they had to leave their wild, hedonistic…
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Review: Two of Us At Royal Court Liverpool
The two of you pleased pleased us. It’s 60 years this month since the Beatles started laying down the songs that would launch them on the stratospheric life-long journey of fame and adulation. That first album, Please Please Me, hit number one in the UK three months later and stayed there for 30 weeks. Reviewed at the time as “surprisingly good and up to standard”, Please Please Me stands as an important moment in the band’s…
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Don’t Miss ‘Two of Us’ At Liverpool’s Royal Court With The Music of John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Two of Us explores Lennon and McCartney’s partnership from their first meeting as teenagers at Woolton Village fete in 1957 to the break-up of the Beatles 13 years later. Mark Newnham and Tom Connor return to the Royal Court to reprise the roles of John Lennon and Paul McCartney which they first played a decade ago in Bob Eaton’s play-with-music, Lennon. This will be an unforgettable evening from the songbook of Lennon and McCartney in a stunning…
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Spring Into 2023 At Liverpool’s Epstein Theatre
Liverpool’s Epstein Theatre is looking forward to a fantastic start to 2023 with the announcement of a busy programme of events for music, theatre and comedy lovers. Epstein Entertainments Ltd is celebrating its first anniversary running the grade II listed city venue by delivering an unmissable range of top-quality entertainment this spring. The season gets underway this Thursday, 26 January with a sold-out show New Purple Celebration: The Music of Prince, a musical extravaganza celebrating…
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Future Stars Invited To Experience Life As A Student At Elite Liverpool Theatre School
Talented young performers across Merseyside are being offered the chance to experience a day in the life of a student at Liverpool Theatre School as the centre of excellence announces a series of taster days for those considering a professional career on the stage. Liverpool Theatre School, whose graduates can be seen in smash hit shows such as SIX, Frozen the Musical, Wicked and Blood Brothers, is inviting aspiring performers to enjoy a broad range…
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Varna International Ballet And Orchestra Heading To Liverpool Empire Theatre This Month
Raymond Gubbay Limited will present Varna International Ballet and Orchestra visiting the UK for the very first time in their 75-year history with classical performances of THE NUTCRACKER, SWAN LAKE, and GISELLE. Varna Ballet will visit Liverpool Empire Theatre 23-25 January. Renowned for its award-winning soloists and magnificent corps de ballet, the company has been delighting audiences for decades at home in Bulgaria and abroad with its performances of the highest quality. Artistic Director…
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One Week To Go Until Liverpool’s Epstein Theatre Will Transform Into The Masquerade Club
A powerful and poignant tale of love, loss, freedom, and friendship among Liverpool’s LGBT+ community opens at the city’s Epstein Theatre next week. The unique immersive show will see the Hanover Street venue transform into the famous Masquerade Club. The electrifying new and reimagined production of Masquerade, written by Laura Lees with additional material by Tom Lloyd and James Baker is set in Liverpool’s iconic gay club in the 1980s and features a heavenly disco soundtrack. The brand-new full-scale version of the play…
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Liverpool Theatre School Presents Lord of the Flies With All-Female Cast
Talented students from Liverpool Theatre School are set to take over The Hope Street Theatre this week as an all female cast of Third Year students put on an incredible production of Lord of the Flies from 15-16 November. Based on the classic novel by William Golding, the play tells the story of a group of young boys who find themselves stranded on a desert island following a plane crash. As the boys fall…
