Liverpool's Everyman Theatre - which celebrates its 60th birthday next year – and its sister theatre the Playhouse have announced a 2024 programme packed with premieres, classic plays and new talent.
The Everyman was bon in 1964 to offer a stage to local playwrights, actors and directors to experiment and create. At the heart of the 2024 season are three homegrown productions, two from writers supported through the theatres’ writing programmes:
The season features:
The Legend of Ned Ludd by Joe Ward Munrow (April 20-May 11) - a new play that takes audiences on a global commute from the Luddite war against new technology in the 19th Century to London, Liverpool, Lagos and beyond. Joe Ward Munrow said: “The play explores how AI and automation are changing the world of work; at the heart of the play we have a machine with the power to choose the scenes played by our three actors, which creates a sense of daring for performers and audience.”
Tell Me How It Ends by Tasha Dowd (June 12-22) - set in Liverpool as the AIDS epidemic threatens a generation, Tell Me How It Ends is about two queer lives intertwining as they learn to love living, finding the joy in being together in a time of fearful uncertainty. Tasha Dowd is a graduate of the Young Everyman Playhouse Writers programme and the play won her the 2023 Homotopia Writers’ Award. She said: “It’s really an honour to be the winner of the award this year and to have my first play staged at the Everyman. This show is really important to me.”
The Lieutenant of Inishmore by Martin McDonagh (September 21-October 12) - Mixing cats, killers and casual violence, The Lieutenant of Inishmore is a shocking, savage and bleakly funny former winner of the Olivier award for best comedy from the acclaimed writer of In Bruges, The Pillowman and The Banshees of Inisherin.
Next year sees the strengthening of creative relationships with the theatres’ associates. As well as collaborating on productions with local companies Homotopia and Cardboard Citizens, there will be a co-production and commission with Talawa Theatre Company. The theatres will also continue to work with Graeae and welcome Crips with Chips: A Fork in the Road, a showcase of short plays by deaf, disabled and neurodivergent writers (February 24).
The award-winning Young Everyman Playhouse programme will present a Young People and Community Festival in July.
Visiting productions include The Kite Runner (April 23-27); Unfortunate, the untold story of Ursula the Sea Witch (March 5-9); Pilot Theatre's return in The Song for Ella Grey (March 13-16); My Beautiful Laundrette (March 26-30); Frankenstein (April 17-20); The Improvised Musical (May 9-11), and Drop the Dead Donkey the Reawakening (May 14-18).
For younger children there’s The Tiger Who Came to Tea (February 12-17); Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book (April 9-13) and Tom Fletcher’s There’s A Monster in Your Show (May 28-June 1).
The Everyman’s celebratory year will end with the annual rock ‘n’ roll panto, which for 2024 will be Rapunzel.
Theatres chief Mark Da Vanzo said: “I’m proud to unveil a year that embodies our unwavering dedication to artistic innovation, the foundations for which were laid back in 1964."
To celebrate the 60th anniversary, all three home-grown productions (The Legend of Ned Ludd, Tell Me How It Ends and The Lieutenant of Inishmore) can be seen at a discounted £60 when booked in one transaction by March 31.
More info and tickets here