Event type: Performance

The Haunting of Blaine Manor

The Haunting of Blaine Manor  

Winner of The Salford Star Best Play of the Year Award   

Written & Directed by Joe O’Byrne  

   

England, 1953. Renowned American parapsychologist Doctor Roy Earle, famous for discrediting hauntings and exposing fake mediums, is invited to attend a seance in Blaine Manor, said to be the most haunted building in England.  

 However, Earle’s arrival awakes something horrific within the manor’s walls. As a raging storm closes them off from the outside world, Earle and his companions find that what is waiting within the manor is not nearly as horrific as what has entered with them.  

  In the spirit of M R James, England’s most accomplished ghost story writer (‘Casting the Runes’, ‘Whistle and I’ll Come To You My Lad’, ‘The Haunted Doll’s House’) and with a nod to the classic black and white film classics of Columbia Pictures, Metro Goldwyn Mayor, Universal Pictures and 20th Century Fox.  

  O’Byrne’s award winning production is a love letter to both the Golden Age of Hollywood and the Hammer Horror era. An appreciation of the fabulous characters played by the likes of Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Bette Davis, Peter Lorre and more. It’s a thrilling haunted house chiller set in a manor with a twisted history of madness, witchcraft, tragedy and death, it’s the new ‘The Woman in Black’.  

Reviews:  

“A horror masterclass from one of our very best and busiest writers” The Salford Star  

 ”Shocking reveals and really fantastic character work from the cast, The Haunting of Blaine Manor feels plucked out of the old BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas and is highly recommended” Bloody-Flicks.co.uk  

“A superbly crafted ghost story, with all the pace of a hard-boiled detective thriller, tinged with Hollywood glamour – and a good old dose of horror.” Lucy Wood, Grimsby Telegraph  

“We should not be surprised that O’Byrne has a knack for the classic ghost story”  The Manchester Theatre Awards  

 ”One of the best original ghost stories I’ve seen on stage in a long time. The atmosphere in the theatre was fantastic. Everything you’d expect from a strong piece of theatre rooted in Victorian gothic horror… a great piece of theatre” The Nantwich News  

 ”The Haunting of Blaine Manor served as a reminder why theatre is so important, particularly for genres like horror” The Theatre Talk  

 Ages 10+   

 

Africa Oyé 2026

 

 

The 2026 edition of Africa Oyé is bringing together Afrobeats stars, reggae legends, Afro-futurist innovators and internationally acclaimed live acts from across Africa and the diaspora.

Returning to Sefton Park on 20–21 June 2026, the festival continues its long-standing reputation as the UK’s biggest celebration of African and Caribbean music and culture.

Leading the bill is Malian singer-songwriter Fatoumata Diawara, the Grammy-nominated artist known for blending Wassoulou traditions with contemporary Afro-futurist sounds. A frequent collaborator with Damon Albarn and Africa Express, Diawara has become one of the most respected global voices in modern African music and is expected to deliver one of the weekend’s standout performances.

Joining her is Nigerian Afrobeats heavyweight Patoranking, making his Liverpool debut. Known for huge crossover tracks like “My Woman, My Everything”, “Babylon” and “Abule”, Patoranking brings a mix of Afrobeats, reggae and dancehall that has helped make him one of the genre’s biggest international stars. Festival organisers have described him as a major cultural ambassador for African music.

Reggae and lovers rock fans will also be excited to see Janet Kay make her Africa Oyé debut. Often referred to as the “Queen of Lovers Rock”, Kay made history as the first Black British-born female reggae artist to top the UK charts with her classic hit “Silly Games”. Her appearance adds a strong UK reggae presence to the programme.

One of the most visually striking acts on the lineup is Fulu Miziki, the Kinshasa-based eco-punk collective who build instruments and costumes from recycled materials. Their performances combine experimental Afro-futurist music, performance art and environmental activism, creating a chaotic and highly theatrical live experience unlike anything else on the festival circuit.

The lineup also includes a range of artists showcasing traditional and contemporary sounds from across the continent and wider diaspora. Ghanaian musician King Ayisoba brings his raw, hypnotic fusion of traditional Kologo music and modern rhythms, while Senegalese artist Oumy adds a more soulful contemporary West African sound to the weekend.

Other confirmed acts include:

  • Nana Benz Du Togo — a feminist electro-soul trio blending voodoo traditions with electronic rhythms.
  • Kizaba — known for his futuristic fusion of Afrobeat, soukous and electronic music.
  • Kobo Town — bringing Caribbean calypso and roots influences.
  • Ghorwane — legendary pioneers of Mozambican marrabenta music.
  • Awale Jant Band — delivering energetic West African dance music.

The festival’s DJ programme is also returning with respected broadcasters and selectors including DJ Edu and Seani B helping soundtrack the weekend beyond the main stage performances.

Beyond the music, Africa Oyé 2026 will again feature the Oyé Village, showcasing food, crafts, workshops, family activities and community arts from across Africa and the Caribbean, maintaining the festival’s wider cultural focus as much more than simply a music event.

 

 

Christmas Gothic

From the award-winning creators of A Christmas Carol, Lady Susan, Female Gothic, That Knave, Raleigh, I, Elizabeth, Austen’s Women, and A Room of One’s Own. 

 Christmas: a time to remember the past, celebrate the present, and look to the future; a time of feasts and festivities; of holly and mistletoe; a time of visits and visitations.  A time of ghosts. 

 Come in from the cold and enter into the Christmas spirit as a dark and spectral woman tells haunting tales of the festive season, lighting a candle to the frailties of human nature and illuminating the cold and chilling depths of the bleak, wintry dark… 

 Following the international touring success that was Female Gothic, Dyad Productions resurrects a Victorian tradition by presenting three seasonal tales of terror to scintillate the gooseflesh for dark Christmas nights.  

 This dark celebration of Christmas is adapted and performed by Rebecca Vaughan (Lady Susan, A Room od One’s Own, Austen’s Women, I, Elizabeth, Female Gothic).  

 

★★★★★ ’A macabre masterpiece.  Ghostly, grisly and gorgeous.  Don’t miss it’ (Three Weeks) 

★★★★★ ’Truly extraordinary… one of the most exciting young performers on the British stage’ (British Theatre Guide) 

★★★★ ‘Holds the audience in the palm of its hand… a near perfect piece of theatre’ (The Scotsman) 

‘Perfection… Vaughan is simply sublime’ (Huffington Post) 

Rubbish Shakespeare Company: Romeo & Juliet

Enemies. Balconies. Kissing… SAUSAGE ROLLS!!?? 

The Rubbish Shakespeare Company presents a tragedy like no other. Three hapless idiots attempt the Bard’s most famous love story using nothing but a box of tatty wigs, a worn floral dress, and a burst airbed found by the bins. 

This acclaimed take on Romeo & Juliet is a riotous hour of frenetic slapstick, clowning and fourth-wall-breaking chaos. Taking huge liberties with the original text, the company splices Shakespeare’s classic lines with modern gags, physical comedy and gloriously silly storytelling that keeps everyone – from age 5 to 105 – completely hooked. 

Described as “like Horrible Histories but funnier” (Primary Times), this joyful production throws out the dusty rules of high art and celebrates the ridiculous heart of Shakespeare – and theatre itself. 

 

 

 
‘A genius way to bring the Bard to fresh audiences’  
★★★★★ – WEST END BEST FRIEND 
 
‘Horrible Histories on Steroids!’  
★★★★★ – THE REVIEWS HUB 
 
‘It’s pure rubbish… and you’ll love every minute’  

★★★★★ – WEE REVIEW 

 

‘Stripped back theatre at its very finest’ 

★★★★★ – AT THE THEATRE 

 

‘Delightfully wacky’’ 

★★★★★ – FAMILIES EDINBURGH MAGAZINE 

 

 

 

Baga Chipz: Bagz to Riches

Lock up ya grandads! Baga Chipz MBE presents…BAG’Z TO RICHES

Join the international drag superstar and RuPaul’s Drag Race icon for a night at the theatre in a town near you as she embarks on her autumn nationwide tour.

Star of stage and screen, Baga is coming close to twenty years in showbusiness, and wants to celebrate with those who made it possible…..YOU! The public.

This is a show not to be missed, and a love letter to all of those who have supported her throughout her amazing career.

Get ready for a jam-packed night of outrageous stand-up comedy, untold stories, anecdotes, memories and of course….the music; the music that has shaped Baga into the performer she is today, from disco to power ballads, big band show tunes to the musicals. Expect the  same old Baga being as crass and blue as ever, live and unfiltered!

This is a story of transformation from council estate princess to the nation’s most loveable tart. A true Bagz to riches story.

After the success of last year’s tour “Chip Off the Old Block” it was only natural to bring back by popular demand Baga’s partner in crime, comedian and vocal powerhouse TANYA HYDE. Expect duets from ABBA to Bananarama, Wicked to Chicago and the history of a twenty year friendship. A camp old time of sequins, big hair, show business and cabaret!

Including tributes to friends past and present, we suggest ya bring a hanky!

If you’ve seen Baga before you will know this isn’t a show for the fainthearted or easily offended; NO ONE is safe! So let’s have a good old knees up, belly laugh til a little bit of wee comes out and get you dancing in the aisles! This is a show you will remember for life. This is the story of Bagz to RICHES!

Meet & Greet available

RAWD in collaboration with Tip Tray Theatre presents: Write to Thrive

 

Write to Thrive at the Unity Theatre

2pm & 7:30pm

This year, RAWD members have joined forces with guest artists Tip Tray Theatre. Across three months of radical research, 60 disabled members from RAWD from Liverpool, Ellesmere Port and Chester have been dismantling and rebuilding poetry to find their own unique language, rhythm and expressions.

From the rehearsal rooms of Unity, Theatre Porto and Storyhouse, three distinct companies will create new works born out of the Write to Thrive project.

RAWD are proudly Associate Company in Residence at Unity hosting weekly sessions that work towards theatre productions. We believe creativity is a powerful vehicle for independence, confidence and expression – art is for everyone.

This year RAWD is celebrating its 15th Birthday by raising £15,000. For more information on RAWD and how to support please visit rawdproject.co.uk

 

Murder Mystery: Murder at Blackout Afternoon Tea

Join a travelling journalist come amateur detective as they are evacuated into a public air-raid shelter on a cold December day in 1943. With flooding deeming the surrounding shelters unfit for purpose, and the bombs falling, there are few safe options left for the locals. But down underground, emotions run high, particularly for certain members of society that wouldn’t usually be in such close proximity with others. But as the bombs come down someone drops dead and with no way of leaving the bunker, there is only one way to survive… by catching the killer before they strike again.

Take refuge in our bunker, but in the darkness discover secrets, political sabotage, scandals and corruption.

Ticket price includes afternoon tea.

Dusty Echoes: Lone Frontier Album Launch

Dusty Echoes is a brand new Americana project, created by Reuben George & Rea Fortis at their home studio in Liverpool, UK. It began as the simple but abstract idea of a one-off EP in a genre they’ve never explored before, but soon blossomed into a labour of love, into which they’ve both poured all their creativity and songwriting skill for the past 2 years. The resulting 5 songs, which form their first EP “Lone Frontier”, reach across genres to include elements of country music, folk, rock, blues, soul and even hints of New Orleans jazz.

 

Unable to deny that this EP has culminated in some of their best composition, production and vocal performances, Reuben & Rea have already begun to sound out ideas for future releases with Dusty Echoes. What was once intended to be a solitary and online-only release will now be launched with a first Dusty Echoes live performance on the EP’s release day, with more live shows to follow.

 

 

Despite drawing from a wide range of artists and genres “Lone Frontier” is undeniably steeped in a Western feel, evoking songs from films, TV and games in the way each track tells a story: and paints the picture to go with it. You’ll hear elements of classic Americana; the influence of artists like Johnny Cash, Marty Robins, Paul Simon and Bobbie Gentry, but also more genre-defying songwriters like Nina Simone, Marion Black, and D’Angelo. Hints of some modern European inspirations in the songwriters’ listening rotation too, like KALEO and Ferris & Sylvester, which leave the listener with the feeling of songs which could almost have been written in any decade of the last 60 years, but were definitely produced in this one.

 

Joined by their full 5 piece band in the warm and intimate Prohibition Recording Studios, get your scarf and boots on, ready for a journey across uncharted lands. You’ll visit familiar songs while being introduced to the raw and unfiltered blend of Dusty Echoes’ signature sound. Get ready for original merch, incredible support and a chance to hear this sound for yourself.

 

Rhythms & Mixes: A Night with Simona Abdallah, DJ Hiba Salameh, and MUSYS

Join Liverpool Arab Arts Festival and Savera UK for a night of exhilarating rhythms and mixes from three powerful female musicians of Arab heritage: internationally renowned percussionist Simona Abdallah; Palestinian music producer, filmmaker and DJ, Hiba Salameh, and Jordanian sound artist, creative producer and DJ, Yasmeen Soudani (MUSYS).

Celebrating her virtuosity on the darbuka, an instrument traditionally dominated by men, Simona will bring her rhythmic energy to Rough Trade, Liverpool in a powerful solo set, before showcasing her unparalleled improvisational skills performing with DJ Hiba Salameh and MUSYS.

Named by Mixmag as ‘one of the Palestinian DJs you need to know’, DJ Hiba Salameh’s electrifying sets navigate through the wide universe of electronic music blending the huge heritage of Arabic music with its counterparts from the planet’s southern hemisphere.

MUSYS plays experimental electronica shaped by nostalgia and futurist Arab themes. She has played across the country from the Jazz Cafe to Royal Albert Hall. As a sound artist, her practice explores migration, land and collective identity, drawing on archaeology, sonic cultures and imagined futures.

This is a standing event only

14+ (Under 16s with Adult)