Event type: Theatre

The Life and Times of Paddy Armstrong

Wooden Bridge Productions brings this retelling of a great historical injustice to Liverpool’s Unity Theatre. The Life and Times of Paddy Armstrong details the story of Paddy Armstrong, who in 1975 was falsely convicted of helping to carry out the Guildford and Woolwich bombings: 

Fifty years after his wrongful conviction, at the age of 74, Paddy is facing into his twilight years and wrestling with a thousand turbulent memories. In Paddy he relives the journey that forever altered his destiny.

A one-man show, starring Don Wycherley as Paddy, the play is inspired by Paddy’s memoir Life After Life, a Guildford Four Memoir (2017). Paddy is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of forgiveness, reminding us that the privilege of freedom and love, family and everyday life can restore us and mend the scars of even the most savage injustice.

Don Wycherley brings unflinching honesty, pathos and humour to his portrayal of Paddy, a man failed and scarred by a flawed system yet refusing to be defined by it. Paddy will make you laugh, it will probably make you cry and ultimately you will leave the theatre uplifted by this unforgettable play starring one of Ireland’s most loved actors.

★★★★★ “Don Wycherley is incandescent in this journey from disaster to redemption” – Irish Times 

A note

We recommend that anyone with lived experience of the Troubles — from any community — considers carefully whether this work is right for them at this time. Support services are available before and after the performance and a list of external services will be made available on the night.

High Tea

High Tea is a one act play, written by Victoria Fradgley.

Set against the weight of Irish family history, the play explores how love curdles into resentment, how our memory can betray us, and whether reconciliation is possible when the past refuses to stay buried.

Land is the fault line that has shaped this family’s history — fought over, bled for, and worshipped above all else. With both parents gone, two estranged sisters are forced to face each other once more, drawn back by the land that bound them and broke them. As they battle over ownership, decades of silence give way to long-buried secrets and inherited wounds.

Devotion turns to resentment, love to rivalry, and the past rises up to demand its due.

This is a story of blood ties and boundaries, of what we inherit, and of the cost of putting land before family.

One daughter left, one daughter stayed. Both lives were changed forever.

This is a 3 hander all female cast. One actor’s voice is a memory; two characters remain on stage throughout the play.

Presented by Tús Nua in association with DTFilms. To contact Tús Nua email tusnuatheatre@outlook.com

Care note: High Tea contains some strong language and themes of family estrangement, mental health and pregnancy loss. We encourage attendees to consider carefully whether this work is right for them at this time. Though we don’t anticipate creating significant emotional discomfort, you are the expert in you, so please treat yourself carefully.

Obscured View

Geraldine Moloney Judge reprises her one woman show Obscured View, five years on from performing to a sell out crowd and standing ovation.

Now the Republic of Ireland are in the play offs, hoping to qualify for the next World Cup. It’s been 10 years since Ireland played in a competitive tournament and 24 years since that memorable World Cup in Japan/South Korea (2002). Geraldine is looking forward to reliving some of those memories in the hope it will spur the Republic to qualify for this year’s World Cup. Geraldine will also reflect on Liverpool’s 20th title win and pay homage to the sad passing of Diogo Jota.

A one-woman one-act play about how a love affair for football began when our narrator saw the Ireland qualify for their first World Cup (1990). Watch as the memories of travelling to see Ireland play their second World Cup final (1994) in the USA take shape, before witnessing Roy Keane’s ejection from World Cup 2002. Remember how the horrors of Hillsborough impacted the people of Dublin, as well as Liverpool, and consider how sexism and racism flag the parochial narrow-mindedness of some fans towards others. The finale is a whistle stop tour of Liverpool’s memorable night in Istanbul, whilst the play — as a whole — reflects the ties between Liverpool and Ireland via their shared love of football.

Written and performed by local writer, actor and Irish-Scouser Geraldine Moloney Judge.

Note to bookers: Once inside the venue there is single-level access throughout, with disabled access toilets. However, there are steps into the venue, which requires a set of ramps that can be requested. Please consider this access when making your booking.

Seasons of You by Joanne Rose 

7:30pm

World-premiere performance at Unity Theatre, Liverpool. 

Jemma Rhodes is a novelist known for her fantasy fiction. But after a long stretch of creative paralysis, she finds herself unable to write, or to move forward. Convinced that distance might restore her voice, she plans an exotic retreat. Instead, a meeting with her literary agent delivers an unexpected alternative: travel to London to co-write the autobiography of Grady, an iconic British musician whose carefully constructed public persona conceals a fiercely guarded private life. 

In London, what begins as a professional collaboration soon grows more intimate. Grady is charismatic, evasive, and used to shaping his own mythology. Jemma, perceptive yet emotionally armored, must sift truth from performance as she pieces together the story behind decades of fame. Through meetings and late-night conversations, they begin to dismantle one another’s defenses. As Grady confronts the fractures and grief he has long avoided, Jemma is forced to face the stagnation and loss she has kept buried beneath her own fiction. 

As the writing deepens, so does their connection. Yet both have built identities around independence and self-protection. To risk love would mean relinquishing the solitude that has kept them safe. The question becomes not simply whether they can tell Grady’s story honestly, but whether they are brave enough to begin a new one together. 

Rooted

7:30pm

There’s no place like home… apparently. Claire has tried moving cities. She’s tried finding queer community. She’s therapised herself to the point of almost actually wanting to live. Man, she’s even tried clicking her heels three times, but nothing seems to work.

The thing is, Claire is always being told to ‘go back home’, and they’ve had enough, so this time they’re really doing it. Through a combo of full-on oversharing, dramatic storytelling, and a bit of audience participation (consider yourself warned), this darkly comic solo show explores intersectional identities, marginalised communities, and the unconventional ways that we find home.

Homotopia 2026

Homotopia Festival 2026 is back: We Come Together
This autumn, the UK’s longest-running LGBTQIA+ arts and culture festival returns to Liverpool with a new theme and a simple invitation: We Come Together.
We come together to gather around a stage. To fill the dancefloor. To join a workshop. To sing with others. To discover a new artist. To celebrate Queer brilliance. To remember our histories and imagine new futures together.

Across October and November, Homotopia Festival 2026: We Come Together will bring artists, audiences and communities together across Liverpool for a celebration of Queer creativity in all its forms. Expect bold performance, visual art, film, music, comedy, club culture, workshops, conversation and plenty of collective joy.
What’s on at Unity?
NATURAL BEHAVIOUR
Saturday 7th November | 7:30pm
Dance theatre company Thick & Tight presents their award-winning show Natural Behaviour, a collection of performed portraits of human and non-human life forms.

RAISING THE WRECK: REVISITED
Thursday 12th November | 7:30pm

Forty years after its groundbreaking premiere an iconic piece of British queer theatre returns for a new generation. For centuries four women pirates have been lying on a wreck at the bottom of the sea.

Fag Packet: DYKE Systems Ltd
Thursday 19th November | 7:30pm
An anarchic cocktail of comedy and physical theatre and a sharp, subversive takedown of pyramid schemes, ruthless heteronormativity and corporate feminism.

Homotopia x Unity Scratch Night
Wednesday 25th November | 7:30pm
Come and join us for a fantastic night of new queer work from local artists at Unity!
Kim Blythe: Puzzle
Saturday 21st November | 7:30PM
Kim Blythe is back with her brand new show Puzzle.

 

She’s Electric: My Strange but True Story 

A remarkable true story from behind the scenes of some of Hollywood’s biggest films of the 90s is coming to Liverpool this autumn.

The acclaimed one-woman show She’s Electric: My Strange but True Story tells the extraordinary story of Vanessa Woolf, who spent a decade as the only woman working successfully as an electrician in the UK film industry.

Prior to her current role as a top professional storyteller, she helped light the sets of major Hollywood productions — powering up some of the world’s biggest stars.

Blending humour, nostalgia and heartfelt storytelling, She’s Electric offers audiences a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes of iconic movies while exploring themes of resilience, determination and breaking barriers. A must for lovers of storytelling and comedy, the performance is “funny, nostalgic, true… and it’s got Alec Baldwin in it.”

The Capstone Theatre on Friday 9th October at 7.30pm

Tickets available now via the Capstone Theatre website priced at £12, with £10 concessions available, plus booking fee.

Content warnings: Sexual threat, drug use, mild swearing.

YEP: Stop Chattin Bubbles!

Prepare to be flown into a proper Liver‑tale, where an evil prin has had an awful day and decides, “I’ll take your voices away!” A group of cheeky children journey through the Every‑Man of Ever‑After Woods, past the Walton Wand Shop, through The Cavern of Creatures and into the Lark Lane Labyrinth to recapture their voices and face their greatest fears!

Come witness a story of friendship and self‑discovery, blending the mythical with the fabulously Scouse, packed with physical theatre, clowning, comedy and celebrations from the YEP 14-17 Actors.
YEP is supported by Backstage Trust, Brabners, Lady Anne Dodd, Garfield Weston Foundation, The Hemby Trust and The Steel Charitable Trust

Playdio – December

1888. Rodney Street…

Holmes, Watson and Mrs Hudson’s first Christmas away from London. They’re settling in for a relaxing, festive holiday in their new Liverpool lodgings, when a snow-covered cob of horse manure hits the window. It heralds the arrival of a new conundrum for Christmas. Or, as they say around here… sh*t happens.
Join Andrew Schofield, Catherine Rice and Rob Jarvis—plus whoever isn’t doing panto, in this exciting Yuletide audio playdio romp packed with mystery, mischief and seasonal cheer.

With sounds provided by Alan (Dr) Watson.

Experience a Victorian Christmas from the comfort of the 21st century as they take outrageous liberties with the 19th.

On long wave, short wave… and give us a wave.

THE LEAP

7:30PM

The Leap is a movement and storytelling piece that weaves together physical theatre, puppetry, and personal history. Partly inspired by the performer’s own family story, it traces the journeys of Portuguese emigrants who crossed the Pyrenees barefoot in the 1960s, leaving behind poverty in search of a different future. The Leap explores what we carry with us, what we leave behind, and how these journeys shape our sense of identity and belonging.