Community Post Type: News

Matthew Kelly and George Costigan, who first met at the Everyman during the 1970s, now take to the stage in a powerful new production of Samuel Beckett’s classic Waiting for Godot in 2026.

George’s credits include John, Paul, George, Ringo … and Bert (Liverpool Everyman) and See No Evil: The Moors Murders, the BAFTA-winning drama. Matthew last appeared at the Everyman for the theatre’s re-opening with Twelfth Night. They have previously appeared together in Of Mice and Men (Birmingham Rep) for which Matthew won an Olivier Award for Best Actor. This co-production with Citizens Theatre, Glasgow and Octagon Theatre Bolton runs at Everyman from 17 March to 4 April 2026.

Cartoonopolis, the hit one-man show returns to the Playhouse on 10 September fresh from a run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Created by YEP graduate Lewis Ian Bray as a tribute to his younger brother Jack, Cartoonopolis is a vibrant and imaginative exploration of neurodivergence, creativity, and the power of family.

Direct from the West End, The Last Laugh is a brand new laugh-a-minute play that reimagines the lives of three of Britain’s greatest comedy legends: Tommy Cooper, Eric Morecambe and Bob Monkhouse. Catch it at the Playhouse from Tuesday 23 to Saturday 27 September.

Susan Hill’s legendary ghost story The Woman in Black returns to Liverpool from 24 to 28 February 2026. Following that, imitating the dog are back at the Playhouse as well with their new take on H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, running from 4 to 7 March 2026.

One of the most iconic Britpop chart battles — Blur vs Oasis — comes to life on the Playhouse stage in The Battle, starring Mathew Horne (Gavin & Stacey) as the music executive who ignited the race to No.1. The production makes its world premiere from Tuesday 12 to Saturday 16 May 2026, ahead of a West End run.

The Playhouse also has a half-term solution for parents. The beloved children’s book A Squash and a Squeeze by author Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler comes to life on stage for the first time, from Monday 16 to Saturday 21 February 2026.

Comedy fans are in for a treat at the Playhouse, with a line-up of stand-up favourites heading to Liverpool. one of the UK’s greatest comedians, Kerry Godliman returns to the stage with her latest new show Bandwidth on Friday 14 November. Welcoming spring 2026 with a laugh, the Playhouse presents Ardal O’Hanlon: Not Himself on Thursday 26 March, Aisling Bea: Older Than Jesus on Friday 27 March, and the much-loved Hollie McNish with her brand-new book tour on Saturday 28 March, followed by Judi Love returns with her new show All About the Love on Thursday 25 April 2026. Looking ahead to autumn 2026, award-winning comedian Scott Bennett explores our obsession with consumerism in his latest show Stuff, arriving on Wednesday 9 September 2026.

Meanwhile, the Everyman is bringing the laughs to Hope Street with Rosie Jones: I Can’t Tell What She’s Saying on Tuesday 21 October and James Acaster: Work in Progress on Thursday 23 October.

All tickets are available at www.everymanplayhouse.com.

Liverpool’s state of the art concert hall, The Tung Auditorium, has released its Autumn/Winter 2025 programme announcing another highly-anticipated eclectic season of live music for all. In similar fashion to its previous seasons, the upcoming programme is packed with a spectacular array of genres and exceptional live performers, ranging through classical, jazz, electric-folk, contemporary and experimental music.

From September – December 2025, the venue will showcase both internationally-acclaimed artists and local emerging talent. The upcoming season will also see returning favourites and some new collaborations, including generous backing from Yoko Ono Lennon to support the venue’s highly-popular lunchtime concert series.

The wider Autumn/Winter 2025 evening programme includes:

• Local legends China Crisis performing on Friday 3 October.

• Celebrated pianist Imogen Cooper performing a programme of Schubert piano trios, Wednesday 22 October.

• Adrian Chandler returns to Liverpool with La Serenissima – Vivaldi: Plucked and Bowed, Friday 24 October.

New collaborations also feature in the season:

• Two lunchtime concerts in partnership with local promoter Decks In The City, featuring KOF + Jazz Gittens, Wednesday 29 October and The Ambro Collective, Wednesday 19 November.

• A new opera, The Hive, offering a bold and contemporary musical experience, Saturday 8 November.

• Performances from stalwarts of the folk-rock scene, Fairport Convention, Sunday 2 November and Steeleye Span, Sunday 23 November.

Seasonal highlights include:

• A collaboration between Manchester Collective and The Marian Consort, presenting an evocative winter performance Saturday 29 November.

• Eliza Carthy and Jon Boden combine their talents for a festive ‘wassail’ – a traditional and festive toast wishing good health, Sunday 30 November.

• The return of local singer-songwriter Robert Vincent on, Friday 5 December, for what has become an annual December tradition, followed by a festive calendar filled with choirs and brass ensembles to celebrate the holiday season.

Tip Tray Theatre is proud to announce the return of I Am Steven Gerrard, the critically praised one-man play that captured the hearts of audiences across Liverpool. Following sell-out performances at The Hope Street Theatre and Liverpool’s Royal Court Studio, the show now takes centre stage at The Epstein Theatre from 11th – 13th September 2025, officially kicking off the venue’s opening season.

Written by Huyton-born playwright Sean McLoughlin, directed by Amy Roberts and performed  by Kirkby’s Joe Cowin, I Am Steven Gerrard is a deeply moving and comedic tale of masculinity, loneliness, and the strange places ambition can take us. Produced by Tip Tray Theatre, a disabled-led company based in Knowsley, the production brings together a powerhouse team of emerging Liverpudlian talent, and continues its mission to spotlight underrepresented voices.

“I know that it does sound weird to say, yeah? But I proper envy Steven Gerrard. You know, the football player?”

The play follows Shane, a young man with a dream not just to be like the Liverpool legend – but to become him. But as the layers peel back, it’s clear this isn’t just a football fantasy. It’s a search for identity, belonging, and meaning in a world that doesn’t always make space for sensitivity.

A Local Story with Universal Relevance

I Am Steven Gerrard was born out of Liverpool’s vibrant grassroots theatre scene. Originally developed through Tip Tray Theatre’s What Happens Next? writing competition as Sean McLoughlin’s debut play, it has quickly grown — now stepping onto its biggest stage yet at the iconic Epstein Theatre.

McLoughlin, a YEP Writers graduate from the Everyman Theatre, uses his personal experience to challenge traditional notions of what it means to be a man – and to feel lost in the place you’re supposed to call home.

“This show was born out of years of feeling on the outside. It’s for anyone who’s ever felt like they didn’t fit in – especially in a city where football is a second religion. I’m so excited to be given the opportunity to have the show on at such a respected theatre as The Epstein.” says McLoughlin.

About Tip Tray Theatre

Led by Evan Byrne and Maisy Gordon, Tip Tray Theatre is a Knowsley-based, disabled-led arts organisation dedicated to supporting early-career and underrepresented artists across Merseyside. Through writing competitions, developmental labs and socially engaged productions, the company is committed to creating bold, high-quality work that inspires, challenges, and sparks change. 

Since launching in 2021, Tip Tray Theatre has supported over 250 creatives through events, workshops and productions, and continues to remove barriers for marginalised artists.

Event Details:

The Epstein Theatre, Liverpool, 11th – 13th September 2025
Tickets available now via The Epstein Theatre Website
Age guidance: 15+

Set in the UK’s scariest abandoned building, where a pervasive sense of dread oozes from the walls, ominous shadows lurk in the gloom and nothing is ever quite what it seems, a palpable fear envelops all who dare enter.

Steeped in history and folklore, Newsham Park Hospital is revered by thrill seekers, ghost hunters and those with a penchant for dabbling in the dark arts. And this Halloween, the vast dilapidated building – over the decades a Seamen’s orphanage, hospital and asylum – will again host Newsham Scream Park for a month of mind-bending madness.

Running from Wednesday 1st October with dates until Friday 31^st October, Asylum Entertainment Limited is back with four new scare mazes and experiences, designed by terror maestros AtmosFEAR! Scare Entertainment. Victorian Psycho, Witch Hunt, Phantasma’s Hall of Freaks and Larst Resort are debuting this October, as Newsham Scream Park elevates the terror for season three even higher, with truly skin-crawling frights, devilish freaks and all out terror lurking in each corner.

It’s the ultimate setting for a night of adrenalin-fuelled horror.

Tickets on sale: www.newshamscreampark.com

Theo Mayne, one of the breakout stars of the hit BBC show The Traitors UK, has announced he is joining The Brain Charity as a new ambassador – and is opening up for the first time about the life-changing stroke his mother suffered in 2019.

The 30-year-old content creator, cheerleading coach, and LGBTQ+ advocate is using his platform with The Brain Charity to raise awareness around brain health, neurological conditions and stroke recovery – a cause deeply personal to him and his family.

“I’ve never spoken publicly about my mum’s stroke before,” Theo said. “It was one of the hardest things our family has faced. But now feels like the right time – because I want to help others who might be going through the same and ensure no one ignores the signs.”

From the spotlight to supporting stroke awareness

In November 2019, Theo’s mum suffered an acute stroke after experiencing sudden dizziness and breathlessness at work. The cause remained unclear until, eventually, she was sent home from work with what she thought was vertigo. Luckily, a concerned friend came by to check on her and decided to take her to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed an acute stroke in progress.

Theo was at work when he received the news from his sister, who was with their mum at the time. He recalls the call with vivid clarity – the shock, fear, and helplessness he felt as their world turned upside down.

The stroke left long-term effects, including fatigue, breathlessness, a limp and memory issues. Everyday activities and family routines have to be carefully planned to her changing needs.

“It’s the little things – her walking slower, forgetting small things – that serve as constant reminders,” Theo said. “It still upsets me, and there’s always a fear it could happen again. But my mum has shown incredible strength. Her resilience inspires me every day.”

Syncopated tells the story of Him, a music student from London, and Her, a young Liverpudlian discovering each other beneath the shadow of the city and unearthing the hidden Black history of the Southern Syncopated Orchestra, the original jazz pioneer.

As the couple connect, they begin to sense history’s echoes when two figures from the past lead them on a journey of personal discovery – a trip into the revolutionary Black sound that took the world, and their own lives, by storm.

Love stories can happen anywhere. In the present or the past, in the head or the heart. Could this be the start of something new, or are they stuck repeating another love story from a hundred years earlier?

Varaidzo is a writer, editor and artist. Previous writing credits include: Bus Stop (2018, shortlisted for The Guardian and 4th Estate 4thWrite Prize); The Good Immigrant (2016); Who’s Loving You (2021) and Manny and the Baby (2024), which was shortlisted for The Jhalak Prose Prize in 2025.

Directed by Manchester-based Tian Glasgow (STUN x Lowry Associate Artist award-winner for Tomorrow is Not Promised; Threshold, Royal Exchange Theatre), Syncopated weaves past and present, real and imagined, love and legacy to honour a lost history and a living present.

Syncopated runs at the Playhouse Studio from Tuesday 23 September to Saturday 4 October. Tickets are £12.50 and available at www.everymanplayhouse.com/event/syncopated/

Get ready for an action-packed summer! Knowsley’s town centres are transforming into hubs of excitement with an incredible lineup of FREE family-friendly events on Saturdays in July and August.

🦖 Come face-to-face with towering Transformers, roar alongside prehistoric dinosaurs, or step into a magical world with enchanting dragons!

😆 There’ll also be laughter and surprises with hilarious street performers and vibrant street parties.

🗓️ Don’t miss out on the fun. Check out the full schedule and plan your visits – all the details are on Culture Knowsley 

Dialogues at Kitty’s Launderette

Every day, it feels like we’re being pushed further apart – by headlines, by politicians, by fear. Communities are being divided along lines of race, identity and background, while those in power continue to profit from our disconnection.

But what if we could choose a different path? One rooted in curiosity, care, and collective strength? 💚

Join them at Kitty’s for a series of 4 fortnightly sessions starting on Next Wednesday 6-8pm, that will cover topics from our history as a city built on migration through to building a collective vision for the future, together.

At the end of the project they will create an exhibition that will aim to open up the opportunity for more healthy dialogues in the community

To find out more about the project and sign up please follow the link

Bluecoat Display Centre’s new display Endangered Craft previews 10 July, shines a light on heritage craft practices under threat as identified by Heritage Crafts, the national charity for traditional heritage crafts. They’re delighted that this exhibition is part of the Independent Biennial programme

From blacksmithing to basketry, from weaving to woodturning, they have an incredible range of heritage craft skills in the UK and some of the best craftspeople in the world. But many of these skills are in the hands of individuals who have been unable to make provision to pass them on.

Join them and some of the exhibiting makers on Thursday 10th July, between 4.30pm – 7pm to celebrate the opening of their new display.

Refreshments will be served and Friends of the Bdc will receive a 10% discount on all purchases during the evening.