Event type: Talk

Join us for our monthly teas and talks on all things theatre related.

Taking place Downstairs at the Everyman, Tea & Talks will welcome a guest host to speak on all things theatre related.

Upcoming hosts are:

Fri 4 Jul – Tommo Fowler

Everyman & Playhouse New Works Associate Tommo Fowler will talk about how they take a new play from page to stage.

Fri 5 Sep – Gary Lunt

Gary is BBC Radio Merseyside’s resident film expert and in 2018 he started his business Reel Tours which provides film location walking tours around Liverpool city centre. In 2025 he became a Blue Badge Tour Guide, regularly hosting tours, talks and screening events based around film history. He has written for several film websites and magazines and is currently in the process of working on his debut book which is about the cinematic history of Britain.

Fri 3 Oct – Ashley Shairp

Theatre Design and Miniaturisation –As a Theatre Designer with 40 years’ experience, making models and miniaturisation has been part of my regular world and very much a tool of the trade. In this hour I will discuss my craft but also talk about the allure of miniaturisation and how I have explored that with my own performance-based work “Front Window” and “Solotoria”. I will also reference projects created at LIPA where I taught design for 27 years.

Your ticket price includes a cup of tea or coffee and a cream scone.

Banner photograph taken at Q&A with panto legend Adam Keast, hosted by Ngunan Adamu at Everyman Open House 2024. Photography by Olivia Carroll.

With Mazen Maarouf, Anwar Hamed, and Basma Ghalayini

A unique evening of stories and discussion, launching Comma Press’s daring new anthology, Palestine Minus One – an exploration of the event that underpins Israel’s 77-year-long occupation of Palestine: the Nakba of 1948.

As a prequel to Comma’s award-winning Palestine + 100 science fiction project, this anthology asks ten Palestinian authors to re-imagine the build-up to the catastrophe of 1948 as well as its immediate and long-term repercussions, using fantastical, supernatural and speculative tropes.

All of these writers had grandparents or great-grandparents who were forcibly displaced during the Nakba, and all offer new ways of re-processing that trauma. At this event, we’ll hear from two of the most prominent Palestinian authors out there: Mazen Maarouf and Anwar Hamed, along with the anthology’s editor Basma Ghalayini. The discussion will be chaired by Comma Press founder, Ra Page.

About the speakers:

Mazen Maarouf is a writer, poet, translator and journalist currently living in Iceland. He has published two collections of short stories – Jokes for the Gunmen (translated by Jonathan Wright) which was longlisted for the Man Booker, and Rats that Licked the Karate Champion’s Ear – as well as three collections of poetry, and a novella. He was also a contributor to Palestine + 100.

Anwar Hamed is a Palestinian novelist, poet, and literary critic, living in London and working for the BBC World Service. Anwar has published eight novels in Arabic, and a number of other works in Hungarian. His novel Jaffa Makes the Morning Coffee was longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF). He was born in Anabta in the West Bank near Tulkarm, where his family comes from, and grew up in Hungary. He is author of ‘The Key’, originally commissioned for Palestine + 100, which has since been adapted for the big screen.

Basma Ghalayini has translated short fiction from the Arabic for the KfW Stiftung series, Beirut Short Stories, and Comma Press. She is the editor of the award-winning anthology Palestine + 100. She lived in Gaza until she was 27.

Venue:

Bluecoat, School Lane, Liverpool, L1 3BX

7:30PM
During this event, Dr Keri Nixon will take the audience through three high profile murder cases. She will explore the details of the cases and delve into the psychology of the perpetrators involved, helping the audience to understand what can lead to such horrific acts. In addition to exploring the crimes, this evening will offer a glimpse into the work of a Consultant Forensic Psychologist. At the end of the night the audience will have the opportunity to untangle any remaining thoughts during the question and answer session.

6:00pm

Join us for a powerful discussion on class, creativity, and resilience in the arts.

Against All Odds brings together a stellar panel of artists and writers who have challenged barriers and defied expectations. From poetry to fiction, from script to screen and from performance to activism, they have each carved a space for working-class voices in the cultural landscape.

Featuring Joelle Taylor, Ashleigh Nugent, Barrington Paul Robinson, and Jayshree Patel, this event will explore the struggles of working-class creatives, the systemic obstacles they face, and the triumphs they’ve achieved along the way.

How do we dismantle these barriers? And how do we celebrate the successes? Expect an evening of passionate conversation, personal insights, and inspiration from those who have paved the way.

Joelle Taylor is an award-winning poet, playwright, and author, Joelle Taylor’s work focuses on identity, power, and resistance. She is the winner of the 2021 T.S. Eliot Prize for her collection C+nto & Othered Poems.

Ashleigh Nugent is a writer, performer, and director of RiseUp CiC, Ashleigh Nugent explores race, identity, and class through his work, including his acclaimed novel LOCKS, based on his real-life experiences.

Barrington Paul Robinson is an Ethical Producer, he broke into HETV in 2020 on award winning, BAFTA nominated drama, The Responder, then A Town Called Malice for SKY, Disney+, period drama, A Thousand Blows, returning home for the second series of The Responder. Based in Liverpool, he is Co-founder of the BFI Creative Producer Lab and founder of his production company Redbag Pictures. Inspired by the past – powered by the future….he ain’t done yet!

Jayshree Patel is a writer on Hollyoaks, Waterloo Road and Casualty and advocate for diverse voices on screen. A champion of underrepresented perspectives, Jayshree is passionate about working for and with young people.

This event is a partnership between Writing on the Wall (WoW) and the Poverty Research and Advocacy Network (PRAN), an independent advocacy network which aims to bring together various stakeholders to amplify voices fighting against poverty and injustice, both regionally and nationally. 

We encourage people to use public transport to travel to events where possible.

*These are difficult times. We know some people may struggle to afford full price tickets. If you would like to attend this event but can’t afford to, please contact info@writingonthewall.org.uk. All queries will be treated in confidence.