Event type: Theatre

Dan is a carpenter. A Geordie through and through. Just on the mend after a heart attack.

Katie has just arrived from London. Finally got a council house for her and the kids. A fresh start.

I, Daniel Blake is one of the most important stories of a generation. A glimpse behind the headlines and the stark reality of what happens when the political system is stacked against you. With 14.5 million* people living in poverty in the UK, this is not fiction. It is reality.

A touching and vital story of how people come together in the face of adversity and how sometimes creating a family to support you just isn’t enough. The show is adapted for stage by Dave Johns who played Daniel Blake in the award winning 2016 film.

*Joseph Rowntree Foundation 2022 Poverty Report.
Recommended age, 12+ due to adult language.

I, Daniel Blake adapted by Dave Johns from the film directed by Ken Loach, written by Paul Laverty, and produced by Rebecca O’Brien for Sixteen Films.

A tiny dragon Productions and ETT co-production in association with Northern Stage. Originally co-produced with Birmingham Rep and Oldham Coliseum.

“I do love some David Attenborough, but even he can be a bit of a miz bag now, always going on about climate change … You don’t want to think about the end of the world before you go to bed on a Sunday night.”

Birkenhead born writer Michael Wynne returns to the Everyman, after his past sell out success with Hope Place (part of the Everyman’s re-opening season in 2014) and The Knocky (winning him Best New Talent at Liverpool Echo Arts Awards). A new dark comedy, Cuckoo explores the safety of home and the different ways we cope in our increasingly uncertain world.

Created in partnership with the Royal Court Theatre, London, for whom Michael has previously written The People Are Friendly and the Olivier award-winning The Priory, the play is directed by their Artistic Director Vicky Featherstone. The cast features Sue Jenkins (Coronation Street for ITV, Brookside for Channel 4) as the family matriarch, with her daughters played by Michelle Butterly (Hope Place at the Everyman, Benidorm for ITV) and Jodie McNee (Twelfth Night at the Everyman, the film Judy), and introduces Liverpool actor Emma Harrison as Megyn.

Michael Wynne is also a successful screenwriter, winning a BAFTA for the film My Summer of Love, writing Lapland and its spin-off series Being Eileen for BBC1, and tv shows including EastEnders, Where the Heart Is and Eyes Down.

A Royal Court Theatre production in association with Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse

In a village far away, by the wild landscape of the sea, every full moon the Selkies appear. As they peel away their seal skin, they dance freely in the moonlight, as humans. One such night a fisherman discovers their secret and, stealing away a Selkie’s skin, our story begins.

A battle of longing and belonging, SealSkin is a powerful story of betrayal, power, otherness and loss. Combining Tmesis’ trademark playful and highly skilled physicality, this new show is presented as part of Physical Fest 2023 and features live music from acoustic duo Me and Deboe.

This isn’t a story about plastic straws or bags for life, this is the tale of how we got to here, this is what the dog said to the harvest.

Tracing 400 years across multiple narratives, we confront the era of human displacement.

Lisa Luxx weaves poetry, fiction and memoir alongside critiques of Europe’s foundational philosophies. The inclusion of verbatim illustrates how climate crisis has long since arrived for Middle Eastern communities and the Global South, and leaves us asking how we can build towards a more progressive future across borders.

Jasmin Kent Rodgman’s installation and score blends sound art, contemporary x electronic music featuring field recordings, vocals, electric guitar, synths and percussion and surround sound.

Kitty: Queen of the Washhouse, the critically lauded one-woman show by ArtsGroupie about Liverpudlian icon Kitty Wilkinson, makes a triumphant return to the Shakespeare North Playhouse after delighting audiences in the Sir Ken Dodd Performance Garden in 2022.

The show, directed by Margaret Connell, and written by John Maguire, has been touring since 2018, and follows the ‘‘against all odds” story of how a working-class Victorian girl fought the cholera epidemic and became a community champion. 

This intricate story, told with humour and kindness, brings Kitty Wilkinson’s St. George’s Hall statue to life on stage. Be immersed in Kitty’s world and celebrate a true female hero of the North. 

Actress Samantha Alton’s turn as the famous heroine has cemented her as a theatrical tour de force, and one of Liverpool City Regions finest players. 

A powerful one-woman performance transporting you back to 1830s Liverpool to tell the story of Irish immigrant Kitty Wilkinson, whose pioneering approach to public hygiene helped stem the city’s 1832 cholera epidemic. 

A lone performer tells the story of the future of the audience; what’s going to happen to them in the decades, centuries, millennia after the end of this show.

It’s the story of a baby born in a lighthouse, of someone on fire in the middle of the desert, of two lovers reunited in a flooded city, of a spaceship on the edge of a black hole. Everything has already been decided. This is the story of the end.

From the makers of Five Encounters on a Site Called Craigslist and The Accident Did Not Take Place comes an act of communal storytelling. A hopeful, hopeless prophecy for earth and humankind. A story of us, our future, of paradise and how we get there in the end.

All the glitz and hitz of Eurovision… This energetic, visual and funny show has been created with 150 people living in care homes and features their voices reflecting on the early days of Eurovision.

They also speak of the values upon which the contest was founded – love, peace, harmony and hope.

Embarking on a two week tour to 20 care homes, the performances at Unity are for people living with Parkinson’s, Dementia, Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases, and their loved ones.

The show features a brand new song bu Luke Thomas & Dora Colquhoun, featuring the voices of 100 care home residents who have helped write the lyrics.

Performed by three actors known to many at Unity (Maria Paul, Leila Chebbi and Cameron McKendrick), the show is directed by Tmesis’ Elinor Randle and designed by Stephanie O’Hara. Conceived and produced by Peter Ward for Nwoko Arts.