Workers Playtime

A Drama Project celebrating the Workers Theatre Movement of the 1920s and 30s will come to an end this weekend at the Hope Street Theatre.

The finale shows will feature 3 Living Newspapers created by local writers, directors and actors as well as a play, “Unity”, by local writer Tom Mclennan.

One of the featured Living Newspapers has already won the Richard Wainwright Award at the Leverhulme Drama Festival and will be performed on the Saturday.

The Workers Theatre Movement delighted in creative styles and techniques which brought a welcome change from much of the stuffy theatre of its day and went on to influence many modern theatre organisations including Unity Theatre.

The Living Room

The Living Room2nd to 9th July 2025 (Limited tickets, booking essential)The Adelphi Hotel, LiverpoolBOOK TICKETS★★★★ – Good News Liverpool (Review, The Bedroom)

Immersive theatre returns to one of Liverpool’s most famous hotels this summer with an audience experience that promises to be both ‘intimate and interactive’.The creative team behind The Bedroom which sold out its run at The Adelphi last year are heading back to the Edwardian city centre building for 2025 with follow-up show, The Living Room.Taking place in a ‘private, hidden room’ at The Adelphi, The Living Room is another unique site-specific piece of theatre brought to the city by Izzie Major and company (Frankie Gold, Piotr Marchewka, Craig Sinclair), featuring performances from emerging artists recruited from Liverpool Hope University.

Speaking about what audiences will experience in The Living Room, Izzie said: A Living Room is a space for connection and reflection, a space for being alive and being together. Isn’t it? Let us draw the curtains, kiss the televisions gentle glow, close our eyes, drop our jaws and let the welcoming light of The Lamp lead us home…”The show is created and performed by Izzie and creative collaborators Craig Sinclair, Frankie Gold and Piotr Marchewka. The Living Room will run from 2nd to 9th July 2025 and tickets are extremely limited. You can book online now via Eventbrite. Strictly 18+.

Uncanny: Fear of the Dark

 

The first Uncanny live stage show I KNOW WHAT I SAW was one of the best-selling paranormal shows in theatre history.

 

 

Now, Danny Robins and his team of experts are back with a brand-new show for 2025, with thrillingly new and terrifying real-life stories and witness accounts that will have you utterly gripped.

This is NOT an ordinary podcast show. This is story-telling and paranormal investigation at its peak. Using a unique backdrop of sound, video projection and theatrical magic, Danny will bring to life accounts of hauntings, apparitions, poltergeists, UFOs and events that seem to defy logical explanation, examining them with the help of experts Ciarán O’Keeffe and Evelyn Hollow and input from you, the audience, as you get the chance to share your theories and your own experiences.

As always, whether you are Team Sceptic, Team Believer or somewhere in between, everyone is welcome.

So… do you have a fear of the dark?

Or are you brave enough to try to solve these chilling, intriguing mysteries?

tiltedco.com

 

YEP: The Snow Dragons

This adventure is more than a story

Deep in the woods, the trees are whispering. Beneath their branches, thrilling stories are being told.

For eight young friends with big imaginations, the woods are where excitement and adventure play out. Day after day they invent stories about giants and dragons, sword fights and vengeance. But today, things are different. An army is coming – not a play army, but a real one – and the soldiers have the kids’ homes in their sights.

In this moment of terrible danger, can these friends become the heroes they always imagined they could be?

Packed with magical songs and exhilarating live music, The Snow Dragons is what happens when fairytales turn dark – when childhood games and the grown-up world collide. Filling the Everyman with fun and invention, laughter and tears, our YEP young people bring this fast-moving musical adventure bursting into brilliant life.

A musical by Lizzie Nunnery and Vidar Norheim

9 Things To Do In May Half Term In Liverpool and The City Region

Big Art WAG 050722 0003

Looking for ways to keep the kids entertained this May half term in Liverpool? Whether you’re staying local or heading into the city for a day out, there’s a packed programme of free and low-cost family events happening across Liverpool and the wider region. From musical mornings and interactive theatre to hands-on science shows and crafty workshops, there’s something to spark every imagination. Here’s our top pick of activities that promise fun, creativity and adventure for children of all ages – without breaking the bank.

1. Mini Maestros, Everyman Theatre Cafe (17 May – 28 June)

Mini Maestros Everyman Theatre Liverpool

Mini Maestros is an excellent music session for 0-5s on Saturday mornings. The session is an interactive, multi-sensory music workshop for children and their grown-ups.

With percussion, signing and dance, the sessions present an engaging platform for children to explore sound and song whilst learning and having fun! Head along on Saturday mornings and join them making music at the Everyman Theatre Cafe.

Mini Maestros is run by RISE Music Education CIC, a local collective of professional musicians working to deliver engaging creative arts projects in the community.

2. Fowl Play – May Half Term Workshops, Tate Liverpool + RIBA North (24 May – 4 June)

Fowl Play half term activities Tate Liverpool 2025

Swoop into Tate Liverpool’s Learning Space this half term holiday for free Fowl Play avian art activities!

Flock together for crafty family fun, constructing multi-coloured replicas of your favourite birds. Play with print stamping blocks and collage to recreate intricate feathered patterns and textures. Using their easy-to-follow templates, make a 3-D model of your bird and dive into their pick ‘n’ mix recycled craft box to add finishing touches to personalise your bird.

There will be a free facilitated workshop on Thursday 29 May from 14.00-16.00 led by artist Colette Whittington.

3. Animal adventures – Little Liverpool special, Museum of Liverpool (27 May)

Little Liverpool Animal Adventures NML
Are you ready to explore the wild world of animals? Welcome to Animal adventures! Join Museum of Liverpool’s animal-themed Little Liverpool special combining a visit to the popular Little Liverpool gallery, with extra animal-themed activities for their younger visitors to enjoy.

Animal adventures takes place on Tuesday mornings at 11.15am and on Sunday afternoons at 2.15pm.

4. Beanstalk! Shakespeare North Playhouse (27 May)

Beanstalk
Beanstalk! is a fantastic tale for kids, big kids and everyone in between! Stuffed with outlandish mischief, magic, music and maybe a bean sprout or two…

Jack is stuck working in his Mum’s greengrocers and all he wants is to go on adventures! When a huge beanstalk starts sprouting between the shelves – maybe the biggest adventure isn’t so far away after all!

A classic slice of family theatre and ideal for a half term visit.

5. Aquarium Behind The Scenes Tour, World Museum (27 / 28 May)

Aquarium Behind The Scenes Tour World Museum
Ever wanted to know what it takes to look after all the amazing animals in the World Museum’s aquarium? Wonder no more! Why not book onto this 20 minute Aquarium Behind The Scenes Guided Tour with one of the museum’s knowledgeable aquarium team members.

You’ll be taken into their back of house facilities to see how they look after the animals in their care. Each tour will have a maximum of 10 visitors and is for years 6+. They also ask for a minimum ratio of 3 children to 1 adult.

6. Big Art special: Art Sparks, Walker Art Gallery (27, 28 and 31 May)

Big Art Special Walker Art Gallery
Spark your creativity and have fun with Walker Art Gallery’s fabulous friendly facilitators in Big Art special: Art Sparks! Big Art is a very special place for young children and their grown ups to discover arty things together.

Explore your creativity as a family with their special facilitated activities and make a marvellous masterpiece to take home. Plus you’ll have some  time to explore Big Art and all the wonderful resources for yourself.

There is a small charge of £2 per child with up to two accompanying adults who can attend free of charge.

7. Garden Cyanotypes: Family Print Session, Bluecoat (28 May)

Bluecoat Garden Cyanotypes Print Session
Join Bluecoat as they explore this photographic printing process in a Family Friendly Print Session. Collect leaves and flowers from their beautiful spring garden to create your prints, or you can bring your own.

A cyanotype is a blue print made by placing an object on paper coated with iron salts. The silhouette of the object is transferred onto the paper as it is exposed to light, and appears after washing the paper in water. Suitable for ages 3+, just drop-in on the day.

8. Pirates Love Underpants, Liverpool Playhouse Theatre (28 – 31 May)

Pirates Love Underpants Liverpool Playhouse
Pirates Love Underpants is based on the beloved book by Claire Freedman and Ben Cort. Join their swashbuckling party of pirates on their quest to find the fabled Pants of Gold for the Captain’s Treasure chest!

Dodge hungry crocs beneath Long-John Bridge, bob upon the waves of Big Knickers Bay, spot sharks in fancy underpants and trek across Three Pants Ridge.

Filled with music, puppetry and glittering pants of gold, arrr you ready to set sail for a family adventure?

9. Exciting Science, The Atkinson (30 May)

Exciting Science The Atkinson
This brand new, Exciting Science educational show will amaze and astound all ages from 4 years and upwards, as they put the ‘Exciting’ back into ‘Science’.

With fun and fact filled experiments, watch in amazement as they recreate a volcanic eruption; turn a vacuum cleaner into a missile launcher or take aim at you with their smoke blaster!

So, stand clear and prepare to be amazed!

For even more things to do in Easter half term in Liverpool and the city region check out our What’s On Listings.

Double bill! Any Other Business and Seat of Learning!

 

Join us at The Studio Beyond for a double bill of new writing this May!

Any Other Business by 4th Wall Productions and Seat of oLearning by Four by Four productions are taking to the stage in a fantastic double bill.

Any Other Business: A life – and a committee – in disarray. Will Gerald be able to reconcile looking after his sick mum with his role as treasurer, or will it all come tumbling down? An award winning play, Written/Directed by Ted Grant.

Seat of Learning: A light hearted, engaging look at intergenerational family life with its heartwarming tales of relationships and new ventures. Written by Tony Vale and Directed by Liz Hardy.

Age Advisory: 12+

Trigger Warnings: Occasional sexual innuendo references. Very occasional mild swearing. References/portrayal of dementia.

 

FRUIT SMOOTHIE

6:00pm
Got a craving for some Whose Line Is It Anyway style games, brought to you by everyday, fun-loving people from different parts of the northwest? Come in for some belly laughter, served extra fruity, extra sweet and extra fibrous by improv comedy troupe the Oickers!

The fourth wall won’t know what hit it, as audience suggestions are part of everything we make up–there will be singing, as an audience member will be serenaded, guessing games with the help of audience imagination. There will be a celebration of the wacky, pocketbook edition themes of life in all its hilarious banality!

See some crowd favourites, but also some Oicker originals–our Fruit Smoothie may not break any visionary records, but we have sweetness at our core, zest in our little steps, and a keen focus on what makes ordinary life extraordinary–so come and be a part of it for an hour!

 
The Team
Dave Hodgson

Iain Luke Jones

Liz Hardy

Michael Ananins

Sandra George

Sekki Tabasuares

Stuart Hughes

HERZ; the roots of the potato

8:oopm
HERZ is the encounter of a woman and her heart in the empty space.

Physical Fest are delighted to bring the hilarious and brilliant Spanish clown back to Liverpool after her fantastic performance a few years ago with this funny and moving show exploring the limits of freedom and love!

The encounter between her and her roots, the expectations and the facts, the ones who wait and the ones who arrive.

lnspired by the return of the hero in classic mythology, Madame Señorita has a teasing silliness that invites the audience to witness and take part in a playful  transformation where the ridiculous and the absurd blend with the tenderness of a failed character

Queer Scratch Night | Unity Pride Series

7.30pm
Join us for a one-off night of sparkling new stories that imagine a better world through a queer lens.

Performed by local LGBTQIA artists trying out new work for the first time, this performance is developed with Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse’s Nathan Powell and writer Luke Barnes (Cinderella).

 

“Heart-warmingly, proudly, queer.” Sydney Morning Herald⁠ on Roots’ Happy Meal

@rootstouring

 

Want to get involved? 

Are you a Merseyside-based LGBTQIA writer, creator or content maker looking for collaboration and a stage? Then we have an opportunity for you…

In Queer Scratch, rootstouring are inviting 8 theatremakers to create and perform their own short work at Unity Theatre, that imagines a better world through an LGBTQIA lens.

You’ll be working with Roots, Yorkshire’s award-winning queer theatre company, and will receive training from leading theatre makers in Liverpool, including writer Luke Barnes (Cinderella) and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse’s Nathan Powell.

Deadline to apply: May 30th 18:00

Performance at Unity Theatre: June 28th

Sign up via the link: https://www.rootstouring.com/queer-scratch-unity-call-out

 

 

Wet Dream with Jesus | Unity Pride Series

6pm

Louisiana; home of Mardi Gras, southern hospitality, and purity culture. This autobiographical comedy explores Alice’s teenage upbringing in the thick of America’s Bible Belt. Discover her LGBTQ+ identity and experience the South beyond it’s cowboy boots!

Hold your beers tight as Alice plays 20+ characters with more flavour than a boilin’ pot of gumbo. Expect chameleon-like storytelling as Alice recounts events so shocking you won’t believe they’re real! Always wondered if American high school is really like the movies? Don’t be shy now – How much can happen to one queer high schooler swimming through a flood of southern gossip?

 

16+