The Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse have announced new seasons taking us right up to the autumn, rather than the usual natural break of early summer.
Senior producer Victoria Rope explained: “We wanted to bring together a real variety of shows to our theatre spaces, so we have thrillers, comedy, dance, music and stories that reflect our time and place. We hope to reignite our audience’s love of theatre.”
Following the premiere of LGBTQIA+ play Cherry Jezebel by Jonathan Larkin (March 8-26), the Everyman will stage another premiere by a Liverpool writer, Chloe Moss. Corrina, Corrina (May 17-June 4) is a thriller set on board a cargo ship travelling from the UK to Singapore as is a co-production with London's Headlong Theatre, directed by Headlong’s new artistic director, Holly Race Roughan.
At the Playhouse, Richard Bean's mega-hit comedy One Man, Two Guvnors runs from June 29-July 16 in the previously-mentioned co-production with Bolton Octagon and Theatre by the Lake.
The theatres continue to support new talent and emerging voices through the Playhouse Supported Studio:
Finger Food Shorts (March 11-12) is a mix of genres from seven northern writers – emerging or already established in their own fields – exploring "secrets" through a diverse collection of monologues.
Proud Daddy (March 25-26) is an original story about a group of Black fathers on a journey of self-discovery, celebrating culture, fatherhood and friendship.
Swing Sister Swing (June 10-11), is a blend of laughter, Lindy-hop dance and storytelling that goes behind the supposed glamour of the classic all-female chorus line.
Scratch Studio, the Everyman’s monthly brunch date with a difference, makes its return on February 26, March 26 and May 28; an eclectic mix of north west theatre-makers will share short extracts of new work, with audience members having the chance to offer their thoughts on how these new ideas might progress.
The Meaning of Zong (May 10-14) comes to the Playhouse from Bristol Old Vic. Giles Terera’s debut drama follows the massacre on board the slave ship Zong in 1781, when 132 enslaved Africans were thrown overboard and which resulted in Nigerian writer and abolitionist Olaudah Equiano joining forces with pioneering anti-slavery campaigner Granville Sharp.
The theatres' programme of visiting shows also includes the return of Frantic Assembly (Playhouse) with its revived and award-winning Othello (October 4-8), which combines the text with the company's trademark physicality. At the Everyman, Funeral Flowers (April 13-14) is Emma Dennis-Edward's multi-award-winning story of 17-year-old Angelique, who is forced to navigate the care system after her mum's imprisonment.
More info and tickets here