Event type: Performance

Open Air Theatre: Macbeth

The HandleBards return to the Mansion House Garden for a hilariously high-octane production of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ like you’ve never seen before. Forget the tears and tragedy, our Macbeth is chock full of mishaps, mayhem and mirth. 

We all know the story. Mysterious spirits appear,Macbeth and Lady Macbeth plot to kill the king, and things get rapidly out of hand from there…

The HandleBards are anintrepid three-strong troupes pending the summer bringing environmentally sustainable Shakespeare to venues across the UK.

We strive to make all our spaces and events as accessible as possible, please see our accessibility page to help you plan your visit.

Liverpool Book Festival 2026

Liverpool Book Festival is returning with a Summer Special at BOXPARK in Liverpool this summer.The packed event will feature over 60 authors selling their books directly, artisan stalls, street food, talks, live music and a kids zone — with free entry for Under 12s. 

Spanning various genres and featuring some incredible independent and bestselling authors, as well as some publishers, it’s an opportunity to meet them and buy their books directly. Some familiar faces will be selling their books, including:

  • Celebrity chef Dave Critchley

  • SAS hero Rusty Firmin

  • Comic book legends Tim Quinn & Kev Sutherland

  • Crime bestseller Conrad Jones

  • Lots of other local independent authors, festival debut authors and publishers

There will also be some incredible live music on the day featuring some of the region’s most talented artists. On the main stage, there’ll be beautiful acoustic live music followed by a DJ spinning Balearic beats — with live music on the outdoor terrace too! Music on the day includes:

  • Abbie Fairchild

  • Liz Owen

  • Aimee Lea Frances

  • DJ Laura Love

  • Nikhil Hathiwala

  • Oisin Hassan

  • JP Cumberlidge

 

Positive Impact Presents: LIVERPOOL – A CITY IN RHYTHM

From the docks of the 1960s to the chart-topping sounds that travelled far beyond the city, Liverpool: A City in Rhythm tells the story of Liverpool through the people who lived it and the music that carried them.

Blending drama, live performance and some of the songs that helped define generations, this uplifting new musical follows a city finding its voice, from the streets, clubs and communities that shaped its identity, to the artists who carried Liverpool’s sound around the world.

A celebration of the people, communities and music that shaped Liverpool.

Because before the world was listening… Liverpool already had a beat.

Presented by Positive Impact – Supported by Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse.

Positive Impact is a Liverpool 8 based performing arts organisation using creativity to change lives. As we celebrate our 25th birthday, we continue to work with children and young people from across Liverpool, creating high-quality training and performance opportunities in acting, dance, music and live theatre. Our focus is on unlocking talent, building artistic skills and giving young people the space to develop their own creative voice and realise their potential. Visit the Positive Impact Instagram to find out more

Creative Recovery: Community Building Bridges

 

Performances will be from artists who are all in recovery and have responded to the theme ‘community building bridges’.

Arrive at 3.45pm for creative workshops 4pm – 5pm Take part in either: Singing with participants from Choir With No Name Drama with Lorraine Fear Creative crafts with Pink Flamingos

Arrival 5.30pm for performance event 6pm – 8pm on the Everyman stage, with performances from Choir With No Name Collective Creations Laugh For Life Smelly Cat Fallen Angels Dance Theatre Collective Encounters Spider Project Choir Find out more about The Merseyside Creative Recovery Network

 

The Choir with No Name – The Big Gig!

“We can’t wait to return to the Everyman for our annual celebration of resilience, hope and the joy of singing together. Expect pop and rock classics and help us to raise vital funds to continue our ongoing work in Liverpool.”

About Choir with No Name

Choir with No Name Liverpool has been building a singing community with people impacted by homelessness and marginalisation since 2014. We were founded on the premise that singing makes you feel good – it helps you to build confidence, skills and genuine, long-lasting friendships. Our choirs are a supportive, safe space for people to be among friends, have fun, build confidence and skills, and feel more able to tackle life’s other challenges, such as securing housing or finding work. Choir with No Name is a national organisation which now has 8 choirs around the UK.

Choir with No Name Liverpool meets on Wednesdays: we have a cuppa and catch up, sing our hearts out for 90 minutes, and then sit down together for a hot meal cooked by volunteers.

www.choirwithnoname.org/choirs/liverpool

Instagram: @cwnn_liverpool / @choirwithnoname

Facebook: choirwithnoname

Blue Sky: @choirwithnoname.bsky.social

WOW! That’s What I Call Musicals

Featuring a powerhouse cast, this high-energy production delivers show-stopping anthems, breathtaking vocals, and electrifying choreography in a full-scale theatrical experience. From spine-tingling ballads to roof-raising numbers, every moment is designed to entertain, uplift, and leave you buzzing long after the final curtain.

Presented by WOW Liverpool, a musical theatre company known for high-quality training and dynamic productions that launch emerging talent onto the stage.

A feel-good, must-see night out for anyone who loves the magic of musical theatre!

The Spare Rib Summer Shimmy

This isn’t just a burlesque show – it’s a love letter to you: your courage, your quirks, your queerness, and your unshakable sparkle. Our glitter-clad performers will weave magic through movement, tease through tassels, and ignite the stage with bold beauty and uninhibited joy.

Whether you’re loud and proud or soft and shimmering, Summer Shimmy invites you to shed the layers and step into your most authentic self.

Come for the tease, stay for the truth – because Pride never goes out of season. Acts to be announced!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show

Created by Jonathan Rockefeller, the critically acclaimed show features a menagerie of over 75 magical larger-than-life puppets, including the star of the show –The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Alongside The Very Hungry Caterpillar, the show features three additional Eric Carle stories. These beloved tales are brought to life by a talented cast of storytellers, sweeping original music, and stunning puppetry that is faithful to the Carle’s iconic artwork.

“After 3,500 plus shows worldwide, we are thrilled to be bringing a new production to Liverpool. We are thrilled that so many children are experiencing the magic of theatre for the very first time – with The Very Hungry Caterpillar.” – The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show creator/director Jonathan Rockefeller

The late Eric Carle said it best, “I am happy the performances are enjoyed by many and that the colourful characters will bring comfort and joy to all who see the stories that have been so carefully produced. It is uplifting to see such beautiful and cheerful works inspired by my characters! I hope my books – and this show – will inspire you and your imagination.”

After receiving universal acclaim from The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, Time Out, The Huffington Post and more, and receiving a Drama Desk nomination for Unique Theatrical Experience and the Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Family Show, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show has been performed in over 20 countries to over 3 million children and counting.

We invite you and your loved ones on an unforgettable journey as The Very Hungry Caterpillar jumps off the page and onto the stage that will delight anyone from 1 to 99!

www.hungrycaterpillarshow.com/uk

The Eternal Shame of Sue Perkins

You may know her as Bake-Off Sue, Taskmaster Sue, Just A Minute Sue, or the Sue that gives you travel envy – but stand-up Sue is full of surprises.

In this show about stigma, humiliation and misunderstanding, Sue shares hilarious stories from behind the TV cameras.

What’s the fallout when your pituitary gland goes haywire on live TV?  How do you convince the public you didn’t really fall onto that hoover attachment? And when intimate photos get splashed all over the internet, how do you switch the shame to dignity and joy?

sueperkinslive.co.uk

Beckett: Lieben 2026 – Play and Come and Go

Play (1962/63) was originally written by Samuel Beckett in English and was first performed (as Spiel) at Theater Ulm in June 1963. It was published in German in July of the same year.

The fate of three characters, who find themselves trapped in three urns with only their heads showing, is forever sealed by an affair in the past. Their constant remembering might indeed seem an understandable obsession were it not for the on/off light of the unseen interrogator – dictating who speaks, and when.

Come and Go is a short play described as a “dramaticule” on its title page, dedicated to publisher John Calder. It was written in English in January 1965 and was first performed in German at the Schiller Theater Werkstatt, Berlin in January 1966. Critics consider this one of Beckett’s most “perfect” plays.

Beckett himself proposed the pairing to director Walter D. Asmus in Germany and they presented the double-bill together at the Schiller Theater in West Berlin in 1977, with Beckett directing Play and Asmus directing Come and Go.

The Unreal Cities Lieben 2026 production is directed by Adrian Dunbar, featuring actors Clara Simpson, Anna Nygh, Orla Charlton, Frank McCusker, with lighting director Michael Cummins.

liverpool.ac.uk/humanities-and-social-sciences/research/beckett/

Picture credit: Renáta Sinclair