Event type: Theatre

Tough Old Bird at Shakespeare North Pl...

Ageing well doesn’t mean behaving yourself…

Tough Old Bird explores how women are viewed in society as they have the absolute gall to get older. Have you ever noticed those adverts promising to ‘defy the effects of ageing’? Ooooh Nana hates them.

What about when we get old? Where’s the instruction manual? Who deems what is ‘acceptable behaviour’? What happens when your voice isn’t listened to, or you become slowly invisible?

Join Nana as she asks the big questions!

“Nana’s comedic stylings evoke the warm-hearted but deadly-sharp observational style of Victoria Wood.” – North West End

“The moments of poignant clarity were matched with joyous hilarity” – Opening Nights

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Produced by Nana Funk

Something About Lennon

Imagine a show that tells the story of one of popular music’s most iconic figures in a totally unique way. 

In a brand-new show from the creators of ‘Something About Simon’ and ‘Something About George’, Something About Lennon – The John Lennon Story will show you a life that wasn’t always filled with peace and love.

A tale of controversy, genius, politics and protest, Something About Lennon charts John’s story from the breakup of The Beatles to his untimely death in 1980, featuring incredible songs like ‘Woman’, ‘Instant Karma’, and ‘Imagine’, and his story wouldn’t be complete without a few Beatles’ classics along the way.

Actor and musician Daniel Taylor leads the band to share a heartfelt tribute to the inspiration behind a generation, Something About Lennon – The John Lennon Story tells John’s story as you’ve never heard it before.

Something About Lennon arrives at the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton on Wednesday 28 May 2025. For tickets and more information see: Something About Lennon – Floral Pavilion

Dear Evan Hansen

Meet Evan: an anxious high school kid who wants nothing more than to fit in. The thing is, on his way to fitting in, he didn’t tell the whole truth. And now must give up on a life he never dreamt he’d have. As events spiral and the truth comes out, Evan faces a reckoning with himself and everyone around him.

Ryan Kopel (Newsies) will play the iconic role of Evan Hansen, alongside Lauren Conroy (Into The Woods) as Zoe Murphy and Alice Fearn (Wicked, Come From Away) as Evan’s mum, Heidi.

They will be joined by Helen Anker (Mamma Mia!) as Cynthia Murphy, Richard Hurst (The Lion King) as Larry Murphy, Killian Thomas Lefevre (Bat Out Of Hell) as Connor Murphy, Tom Dickerson (Heathers) as Jared Kleinman and Vivian Panka (9 to 5 the Musical) as Alana Beck.

The show collaborated with TikTok during the audition process, inviting those interested in being cast in the production to upload a video singing any number from the show. Over 2000 videos were submitted, 36 TikTok users were invited to in-person auditions and Sonny Monaghan was cast in the ensemble, and as alternate Evan (performing the role twice a week, at every matinee performance).

This brand new production of Dear Evan Hansen is the first in the UK to feature an ensemble. The ensemble will consist of Lara Beth-Sas, Will Forgrave, Daniel Forrester, Jessica Lim, Sonny Monaghan and Elise Zavou.

Packed with some of the biggest musical theatre songs of the last decade, Dear Evan Hansen has a score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Oscar-winning composers for The Greatest Showman), book by Steven Levenson and more awards than can be listed here. Well ok, we’ll mention a few: its Tony® Award for BEST MUSICAL, Olivier Award for BEST NEW MUSICAL, Grammy® Award for BEST MUSICAL THEATER SCORE…no big deal but the list goes on!

With direction by Adam Penford (Artistic Director at Nottingham Playhouse), this brand-new production marks the first time that the Broadway and West End phenomenon will tour the UK & Ireland. So wherever you are, #YouWillBeFound, with the Dear Evan Hansen tour coming to a theatre near you from Autumn 2024.

Book by Steven Levenson

Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul

The Futher Adventures of Peter Pan: Th...

Prepare to be ‘hooked’ by this Piratical Panto Spectacular!

Martin Dodd for UK Productions Ltd in association with Floral Pavilion Theatre present The Further Adventures of Peter Pan – The Return of Captain Hook.

Join Peter, Smee, Tinker Bell, and Ethyl Mermaid on a brand-new swashbuckling adventure full of fun, laughter… and crocodiles!

After defeating the evil Captain Hook and his crew of prancing pirates, life has been pretty perfect for Peter Pan. But when a stranger arrives in Neverland, he is forced to question his past and face his future. Will Peter ever grow up?

And then there are the rumours…

That a certain someone survived the stormy seas and is seeking revenge! Have you heard them too? People are saying… that Hook is back!

So watch out, he might be behind you!

This production is full of sparkling sets, lavish costumes, amazing song and dance numbers, giggles galore and bags of audience participation. Don’t miss it!

The Ballad of the Underwater Daughter

Somewhere out there, in the murky no-man’s-land between reality and “are you pulling my leg?” there’s a mechanical island inhabited entirely by dads. Bodged together out of mangled metal and broken dreams, dad island is a flawed coping mechanism that barely manages to hold itself together.

Then one stormy night, a tiny barnacle encrusted bottle floats into the harbour with a crumpled note inside which reads, “remember me?”

The Ballad of the Underwater Daughter is a strange sort of odyssey. A woozy universe of messy minds and monstrously

fishy metaphors. Overloaded with puppets, props and machines, it is unquestionably the latest production from Leeds’ own theOBJECTproject (the company that may or may not have traumatised you with PIXIEMATOSIS).

The show is suitable for adults and people aged 14+. It contains very strong language and exploding dads.

The show will feature an additional 30 mins post show exhibition where they encourage the audience to come onstage and interact with the puppets and automata.

Credits:

Written, designed and constructed by Mr Marc Parrett.
Additional material created by Tash Hudson and Frances Merriman.
Tour produced by Ione Vaughan.

It Didn’t Start In ’81

Raw and hard-hitting, verbatim drama that started as a Wirral school project to explore attitudes to race and prejudice in the local community.

Following an intensive process of interviews and workshops, ‘It didn’t start in ‘81’, uses the words of members of Liverpool 8 community as they share their memories of the uprising in 1981. Supported by video footage and music, it challenges the audience to consider, what is it that makes someone who is normally passive and law-abiding turn to violence?

Performed by young people from West Kirby Grammar School, as they present voices that may have gone unheard.

Videotherapy – Work in progress

This perfomance is a work in progress

Izzy Roberts had many ideas of where and who she would be when she turned 30: Cocktails in New York, married to a man she actually likes with a house and maybe an Italian greyhound called dolce. 

But instead she’s unemployed, single and living in her mums spare room. 

Ditching the rose for the self help books Izzy goes on a journey which is both heartbreaking and hilarious to figure out who she is now in this next chapter of her life….. and her mum is also coming along for the ride. 

THE BAND

Sandy & Bruno met in the Seventies.

She was fame hungry, he was doomed to follow her. As one hit wonders, this is a story of their big come-back. With Sandy’s determination and Bruno’s blissful devotion to her, they are here; not by popular demand, but by sheer defiance.

With striking aesthetics and a rousing soundtrack, THE BAND is a quirky, humorous display of desperate ambition and blind affection told through awe-inspiring dance, theatre and circus.

Recommended Age 8+

There is a booking fee £1 per ticket online/phone.

Reviews

“Hard to bracket, and easy to love.” – The Circus Diaries

“Theatrical close-up magic.” – British Theatre Guide

“Stunning movement and aerial acrobatics.” – Everything Theatre

“A multi-faceted, multi-sensory, multi-disciplinary melange of magic.” – Greenwich Visitor

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“Absolutely wonderful!!! Incredible skill!” – Audience member

Uprooted

Ibrahim and his family flee a war-torn Syria, and escape to Lebanon and then to Egypt, before they eventually settle in Turkey. Uprooted is a story of the devastating effects of war, solidarity within a family, and themes of loss and longing.

This play, which was showcased at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024, explores hope, adaptation, and resilience in the face of extreme hardship, and the will to live and go on fueled by familial love.

“I felt a little relieved when I got out of the house. I put one of the cookies in my mouth. All of sudden, a loud noise occurred. I remember everything suddenly lighting up and feeling great pain. And a ringing… I don’t remember much else about that moment. All I remember is the taste of the cookie. Our house was hit by a rocket launcher. That was the last moment I saw my father, us looking at each other from afar. There was an invisible border between us.”

Lights Up On Liverpool: Walking Tours

To mark ArtsGroupie’s exciting new exhibition #LightsUpOnLiverpool, Theatre History at – The Hornby Library Liverpool Central Library Nov 2024 till Feb 2025, they have 4 x FREE Theatre History Walking Tours available.

Join 18th Century thespians Bartholomew Garrik and Francoise Kemble as they take you on a journey celebrating Liverpool’s theatrical heritage, visiting the former sites of playing houses and contemporary theatres, finishing at the magnificent Liverpool Theatre History exhibition in The Hornby Library, Liverpool Central Library and Archives.

Sat 9 Nov – 11am & 2pm from unity theatre to The Hornby Library (2 hours duration).
Info here

Sat 30th Nov – 11am & 2pm starting outside Central Library and finishing at The Hornby Library (2 hours duration)

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Limited Spaces available – BOOK now artgroupie@outlook.com
Kindly supported by Arts Council England