Theatre in Liverpool
Theatre show previews and reviews
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In Conversation – Tom Cain (97+ Playwright)
In a powerful new theatrical drama titled 97+, playwright Tom Cain delves into the profound impact of the Hillsborough disaster. The play explores the ongoing fight for justice and the enduring trauma faced by survivors. For our latest interview, we sat down with Tom to understand his inspiration for 97+ and the significance of representing such a sensitive event on stage. Liverpool Noise: Can you tell us about the inspiration behind 97+ and what drove…
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Summer Season of Open-Air Theatre In Calderstones Park Brings Liverpool’s 1940s ‘Garden Theatre’ Back To Life
The Reader charity, based in Liverpool’s Calderstones Park, has announced a season of open-air theatre shows for the summer featuring Shakespearean favourites and Sherlock Holmes. The performances will bring one of the city’s hidden historic gems back to life. The Art-Deco style theatre stage built in 1947 hosted everything from performing dogs and ventriloquists to opera and award ceremonies, and is celebrated in a new book and podcast. The summer season of theatre will begin on Thursday 18…
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West End And Broadway Hit The Kite Runner Returns To Liverpool
Bringing Khaled Hosseini’s internationally bestselling novel to life, The Kite Runner direct from its acclaimed Broadway season is set to make a triumphant return to the Liverpool Playhouse from Tuesday 23 April to Saturday 27 April 2024. Originally produced by Nottingham Playhouse and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, The Kite Runner first captivated Liverpool audiences in 2013 and returned as part of a UK tour in 2018. It garnered rave reviews and deeply moved audiences with…
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Alternative Black Cabaret Showcase Is Back For 10th Instalment
Designed to provide a platform for black and brown comedy and entertainment talent, the Alternative Black Cabaret Showcase will celebrate its 10th instalment next month at Liverpool’s Royal Court on 11 April. Run in partnership with Boisterous Theatre Co. and founded by comedian and resident host Che Burnley, the showcase began at Edinburgh Festival in 2016 before finding a regular home in the Liverpool theatre five years ago. Over that time, the showcase has provided…
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Up Next Festival Returns To Unity Theatre For 2024
Unity Theatre’s annual celebration of Merseyside artists – Up Next Festival – is back for 2024, providing a two-week long programme featuring brand-new shows from Merseyside’s most exciting artists and companies. Following an extended break in 2023, Up Next Festival 2024 has been hotly anticipated on Merseyside and is a welcome return of a real Unity Theatre calendar favourite. Up Next Festival has been made possible through Unity’s Open Call Crowdfunder 2023 Donors and as a result…
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Immersive Frankenstein Spectacle Arrives At Playhouse This April
A retelling of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, crafted by the innovative theatre company, imitating the dog, merges digital technology with compelling live theatre at the Liverpool Playhouse from Wednesday 17 to Saturday 20 April. This modern adaptation of Frankenstein, produced by imitating the dog, follows their thought-provoking and boundary-pushing productions at the Playhouse, including Heart of Darkness and Macbeth. It’s co-produced with Leeds Playhouse, with whom they have previously collaborated on the critically-acclaimed recreation of…
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Review: ‘Come Together’ At Royal Court Liverpool
Come Together brings us all back home. Following the success of last year’s smash, Two of Us, Tom Connor and Mark Newnham reprise roles they were seemingly born to play as Paul McCartney and John Lennon. Two of Us was outstanding entertainment and Come Together is no less joyful in the company of first-class musicians and the greatest song book of all time. Everyone from Beatles’ aficionados to proud Scousers will lap up a show…
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Liverpool Everyman Welcomes All to Celebrate its Anniversaries with Open House
To mark Liverpool Everyman Theatre’s 60th birthday and the new award-winning building turning 10, on Saturday 23 March the theatre will open its doors, inviting audiences to join free backstage tours, Q&A sessions, and family-friendly activities across the building. The day will begin with the unveiling of the Frederick Douglass plaque, a permanent installation designed by Liverpool-born artist Vicki Opomu, to commemorate and honour Douglass’s legacy. Following the unveiling, people will be able to discover parts…
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In Conversation – Sab Muthusamy (4am Productions)
We spoke with Sab Muthusamy, co-founder of 4am Productions, a dynamic theatre production company making waves in Liverpool’s arts scene. Sab shares the inspiring journey of 4am productions, born from a desire to provide a platform for diverse voices in the arts. Despite facing challenges and setbacks, Sab’s passion for equal representation fuels the company’s growth and success. Liverpool Noise: For our readers can you tell us about 4am productions and how you got started.…
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Iconic Liverpool Hotel Provides Setting For New Piece of Surreal Immersive Theatre
A unique site-specific immersive theatre show will take place at a famous Liverpool hotel this spring. The Bedroom is an intimate and interactive show that will invite audiences to a surreal world of bizarre characters and ask people to explore their relationship with domestic spaces, objects, and their strange and questionable role in humanity. The show is the brainchild of Izzie Major, a performance artist from the North West whose work explores the absurd, the ritualistic, the macabre, the feminine and the…
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‘Boys From the Blackstuff’ Returns To Liverpool’s Royal Court This Spring
Following its acclaimed run at Liverpool’s Royal Court last year, James Graham’s powerful new adaptation of Alan Bleasdale’s seminal TV show Boys from the Blackstuff is back for 2024. The show, which wowed audiences and critics alike, will return to Liverpool’s Royal Court for three weeks, before transferring to the National Theatre for a two-week run. The production is directed by Kate Wasserberg, with original cast members George Caple, Dominic Carter, Helen Carter, Aron Julius, Nathan McMullen,…
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In Conversation – Sean McLoughlin
Over the years, Merseyside has produced some notable national and international writers and playwrights, which include Alan Bleasdale (Boys From The Black Stuff), Colin Welland (Chariots of Fire), Willy Russell (Education Rita) and Peter Shaffer (Equus). The latest addition to this long list is Sean McLoughlin, whose I Am Steven Gerrard is about to start a sold out limited run at Liverpool’s Hope Street Theatre from 25 – 28 January. We caught up with him…
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Step Into Christmas In Liverpool With The Snow Queen At St George’s Hall
Families are being invited to immerse themselves in the ultimate magical Christmas wonderland in the heart of Liverpool. The magnificent St George’s Hall in the city is being transformed into a festive theatrical venue of dreams as the children’s favourite The Snow Queen is brought to life. You are invited to step into a world where magic reigns supreme with a series of live performances which are guaranteed to remain in your hearts throughout the…
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DaDa Present Three Varied Events As Part Of Its 2023 Winter Programme
Liverpool based arts organisation DaDa return this month with a winter programme of three distinct events, adding warmth, joy and challenge to the cold winter nights. Unity Theatre and Museum of Liverpool will play host to the disability and deaf arts programme which aims to entertain and educate. The programme, running in November and December will present a Liverpool premiere play, a night of captivating cabaret, along with their annual social justice lecture presented on international day or disability. First…
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Hip Hop Theatre Show High Times And Dirty Monsters Is Coming To The Everyman
Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, along with 20 Stories High, Graeae Theatre, and LEEDS 2023, present radical hip hop production High Times and Dirty Monsters. Gathering the voices of young disabled and neurodivergent artists, it premieres at Liverpool Everyman from Monday 9 to Saturday 14 October 2023, ahead of a nationwide tour. Actor and multimedia artist Joséphine-Fransilja Brookman (A Pigment of Your Imagination, Pleasance Theatre Futures Festival) joins forces with dancer and actor Jayden Reid, who has…
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Lemn Sissay Breathes New Life into Kafka’s Metamorphosis with His Poetic Vision
Following the acclaimed sell-out tour of Othello last year, Frantic Assembly returns to Liverpool Playhouse from Tuesday 17 to Saturday 21 October with their thrilling reimagining of Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Combining the fluidity and lyricism of BAFTA-nominated poet Lemn Sissay OBE’s adaptation, the production depicts on stage a powerful and poetic transformation of the struggles of people within a system. Graduate of the Everyman and Playhouse Theatres award-winning Young Everyman Playhouse [YEP] programme, Felipe Pacheco (Othello,Everyman; The Responder, BBC; Brassic, Sky One) will play the main role of Gregor,…
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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…
