Event type: Theatre

The Life and Times of Paddy Armstrong by Wooden Bridge Productions

7:30pm

 

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 The Life and Times of Paddy Armstrong, 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.

After two years of touring the island of Ireland to sold out audiences, this award-winning play is coming to the Liverpool Irish Festival in October 2026. Don’t miss it!

Here’s what the critics and audiences had to say

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

★★★★★ “Gritty and moving… Unmissable” – Irish Independent

★★★★★ “”Wycherley is superlative in this exquisitely tender portrayal of Paddy Armstrong”– Emer O’Kelly, Sunday Independent

“A searing indictment of injustice and a heartfelt song of survival… Don Wycherley, whose career defining performance is of such devastating power, the only appropriate response is awe.” The Arts Review “Incredible… Don Wycherley in the performance of his life… Unforgettable” – Joe Duffy, RTÉ Radio 1

“What a beautiful experience. It was a privilege to see such wonderful writing and acting up close. The play is an absolute triumph.” – Donal Ryan (author)

“I highly recommend the Paddy Armstrong play. Don Wycherley captivates” – Christy Moore

“A combination of a fine script, super superlative acting and a profound true story. Wycherley is is perfect as Paddy” – Katy Hayes, Saturday Independent 

“A stunning play and performance. Don’t miss it”– Alastair Logan, Guildford Four solicitor

“This is writing and acting at its most powerful… a totally engrossing experience. It truly is a show not to be missed”– Michael Harnett, playwright

“An absolute must-see. Incredible play that will make you laugh, cry, become enraged in equal measure. Don Wycherley is outstanding” – audience member

The Story of Edith Smith

7:30pm

The Story of Edith Smith is a new heritage theatre production by Oxton Playwrights CIC, created as part of Her Stories of Wirral, a two-year National Lottery Heritage Funded project uncovering overlooked women’s histories from across Wirral.

Edith Smith was born in Oxton and later became Britain’s first female Police Constable with full powers of arrest while serving in Grantham. But behind that historic title is a much fuller human story – of family responsibility, personal loss, motherhood, work, care and determination.

This production follows Edith’s journey from local woman to national figure, exploring the challenges she faced at a time when women’s roles in public life were tightly restricted. The play examines not only Edith’s role in policing, but the wider social world around her.

Written and directed by Pauline Fleming, a professional actor now developing original work as a writer and director, and co-produced with her daughter Cornelia Cannell, the piece combines careful research with theatrical interpretation. The aim is not only to tell audiences what Edith did, but to help them connect with who she was.

The production continues Oxton Playwrights CIC’s mission to bring overlooked local stories back to life through theatre, heritage and community storytelling.

 

Writer and Director Pauline Fleming

Co-Producer Cornelia Cannell

Presented by Oxton Playwrights CIC

Project Her Stories of Wirral

Supported by National Lottery Heritage Fund

Cast To be confirmed

Facebook: Oxton Playwrights CIC

Instagram: Oxton Playwrights CIC

Website: www.oxtonplaywrightscic.co.uk

A Christmas Carol

A CHRISTMAS CAROL 

A radio play live on stage

Written by Charles Dickens, adapted by Martin Parsons

 Back on tour after its sell-out success last year!

 Live on stage and in person, television favourites COLIN BAKER (Doctor Who, The Brothers) and SOPHIE ALDRED (Words & Pictures, Doctor Who) lead the cast in a new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Christmas classic – which also features a rare, specially recorded appearance by TOM BAKER (Doctor Who, Monarch Of The Glen) as Jacob Marley!

 “He was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge – a squeezing, grasping, covetous, old sinner!”

On Christmas Eve, Ebenezer Scrooge is warned by the ghost of his late partner, Jacob Marley, that he will be visited by three Spirits – Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet To Come. Together they whisk Scrooge to the past and his happy boyhood Christmastimes, to the present to meet Tiny Tim at Bob Cratchit’s Christmas feast, and finally to the future and Scrooge’s own miserable grave – all attempting to show him the error of his ways. But will Scrooge wake on Christmas morning a changed man?

Presented by the Crime And Comedy Theatre Company as a radio-play-live-on-stage, our setting is a radio studio, our actors ready as if for a radio broadcast, and our sound effects created live – all combining to transport the audience to Victorian London, for this 180th anniversary production of Dickens’ timeless tale of charity, forgiveness and redemption at Christmas.

Pat the Painting Pig

Pat the Painting Pig at the Unity Theatre

In the heart of Wiley Wood lives a tremendous artist known as Pat the Painting Pig. His paintings are so magnificent that his talents start to bring unwanted fame and attention from the other animals. Pat finds all of this very distracting and so he hatches a plan to be able to work in peace once again. Just how far will he go to be left alone? And at what cost?

Join Pat and a host of other woodland creatures in this charming exploration of friendship, community and artistic talent. Pat the Painting Pig is a brand new play featuring set and props made at Bridge Inn Community Farm, and original music and songs. This pig-tastic adventure will have the entire family clapping along and oinking with laughter.

Written by Ed Bixter

Directed by Suzy Walker

Original Music by Sonic Mutiny

Produced by Gambolling Arena and Sonic Mutiny