Want to know more about why Shakespeare North Playhouse was built? Why in Prescot? What is the link to Shakespeare? Look no further…
On our Heritage Tours, you will be led on a deep dive tour through Shakespeare North Playhouse, giving you an exciting glimpse into all there is to see in our beautiful new venue, learning about the history of Prescot and its links to Shakespeare himself, and have the opportunity to ask any burning questions you may have about our building.
Each tour will last around 1 hour and will give you the chance to explore;
- Sir Ken Dodd Performance Garden
- The Cockpit Theatre
- Learning Centre
- Exhibition Gallery
- Community Space
Along the way, your tour guide will explain the inspiration behind each space, letting you in on some interesting historical facts. There will even be the chance to snap a selfie or two!
This is the perfect opportunity to explore our unique theatre and learn how it came to be, giving you a deeper insight into the town of Prescot you thought you knew…
The maximum number for group bookings is 15, to enquire about a group booking please email hello@shakespearenorthplayhouse.co.uk
Imaginarium Theatre are returning to the Cockpit Stage with their comic play that explores Shakespeare’s links to Prescot through a time-travelling adventure that blows apart the myths, the man and the missing years.
Will Shakespeare is in Prescot, but who knows why or how. His Tudor days seem far away from the here and now. He needs the help of locals, as time is running out – his memory is fading, his writing future is in doubt!
Who are the Shakespeare detectives, and how can they help? How does a mysterious portal in the barber shop where the Prescot Playhouse once stood, provide a clue to getting Will home? Who is Lord Strange, and why is he so extraordinarily strange? And why does Will spend so much time at the pub?
Join the bard at the bar for an unforgettable night of music, mystery, and mayhem.
Imaginarium are a local creative company who host spectacular productions of Shakespeare plays and literary classics in parks, gardens and great halls across the North West. Imaginarium Theatre is an Associate Company of the Shakespeare North Playhouse.
LOOPS is a brand-new Hip-Hop Theatre show from 20 Stories High, co-produced with Liverpool Everyman + Playhouse, bursting with heavy beats, beautiful lyricism, and raw energy.
Following a day in the life of Djibi – a young Black man living in a largely white area of Liverpool – LOOPS grapples with Stop and Search, institutional police racism and how it affects Djibi’s relationships with his family, friends, and wider community.
As well as exploring challenging themes, LOOPS is also a show full of activism, uplifting music, and practical strategies on how to deal with ongoing police encounters.
Accompanied by a pulsating live original score by rapper and producer Man Like Mally (BBC’s Rap Trip) and starring actor/rapper Winston Branche (Peaky Blinders, The Streets Where We Live), LOOPS is a vital piece of theatre for modern times.
Written by Keith Saha, the play was developed with the cast – as well as a group of local Black and Global Majority activists and artists.
Age Guidance 14+
Oi! Men! Yes, You. Straight men. The ship is setting sail and needs you aboard! We can’t guarantee a safe journey, the winds are getting stronger, the waves are swelling, and a storm is brewing on the old sea of misogyny.
This journey is for you but it’s about us, women. It’s about our unsafe spaces, our fears, your unwanted dick pics, approaches, harassment, and your responsibility. Will it be lairy? Yes. Will it be lady-like? Hell no! Girls bring your fellas, you husbands, partners, mates, brothers, sons, dads as we get to grip with this giant and humongous wave.
This performance has been created and devised by a collective of brilliant female artists from the Northwest.
Content Warning 18+ This performance contains verbatim descriptions and graphic details of sexual assault, rape, sexual violence, murder, abusive and sexist and offensive language.
The event is held Royal Court Studio, 19/20 January, 7.30pm.
What happens when a person who has been punched down upon all their life, finally punches back?
Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh shifts the lens on Shakespeare’s most iconic villain Richard III, questioning what we think we know of him, in this blistering new production.
With an original score inspired by traditional folk music from Yeofi Andoh, this rejuvenated staging sets kingdoms and castles amongst May Day parades and Morris dancing (from Bridgerton choreographer Jack Murphy) in a rural Cotswold setting.
Following her acclaimed production of Richard II at Shakespeare’s Globe, Adjoa Andoh now follows the rise of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, as he deceives and murders anyone who stands in his path to becoming King.
See here for a video interview with Adjoa Andoh in rehearsal.
★★★★
‘Exciting, fresh-thinking theatre, performed from the gut and piercing straight to the heart.’
– The Times on Andoh’s Richard II
Family Tree is a beautifully poetic drama about race, health, the environment, and the incredible legacy of one of the most influential Black women of modern times. Fearlessly honest, hilarious, and ultimately transformative, this award-winning play is both a remembrance and a celebration.
Henrietta Lacks is one of most remarkable people in medical history. Her cells form the basis of the most important medical research and breakthroughs happening today, from cancer to HIV to COVID.
But Henrietta never knew any of this. Her cells were taken without her or her family’s knowledge or permission.
Henrietta was a Black woman: she is not the only one whose body has been exploited by the medical establishment.
Denied her place in history, now is the time for Henrietta’s incredible legacy to undergo a transformation … to blossom and grow into something new and wonderful.
This brand-new nationwide touring production is brought to you by playwright Mojisola Adebayo (Alfred Fagon Award winner for FAMILY TREE) and director Matthew Xia (The Wiz, Shebeen).
Marlene is at the top of her game. As the new Managing Director of Top Girls Employment Agency in the glitz and glamour of 1980s London, she hosts an extraordinary dinner party to celebrate her achievements. But what is the true cost of success for a woman of colour making it in a man’s world?
Returning home to Toxteth, a showdown with sister Joyce lays bare some hidden truths. As the sisters struggle to reconcile their differing realities, what does it mean for the next generation?
Set in a divisive decade of strikes and uprisings; as well as music and fashion that transformed Britain, Top Girls is now reimagined for Liverpool with a cast including Tala Gouveia (McDonald & Dodds) and Alicya Eyo (Bad Girls) as the sisters.
Fantastical and fiercely funny, Top Girls is acclaimed as one of British theatre’s crowning glories. As Caryl Churchill’s ground-breaking play turns 40, it is now more urgent and necessary than ever.
Selected as one of The Stage’s must-see shows to see across the UK in 2023 and What’s on Stage Critic’s pick: Top shows to see in 2023.
An Afrofuturist Space Odyssey.
Meet Mrs: an old lady who goes into outer space… in search of her own orgasm. Isn’t that where all orgasms go?
Her quest is sparked by three encounters: a young neighbour who discloses a secret, an old friend who reveals she is intersex, and a would-be lesbian lover in a launderette who offers Mrs two drops of her own pressed lavender and a smile that says, ‘I handle delicates with care’.
Told through one woman and a live DJ, with projected animation and captions, STARS is a moving and joyful, sensitive yet funny, Afrofuturist odyssey accessible for all.
A ‘concept album on stage’ the hugely original, STARS is the latest jewel from internationally acclaimed theatre maker, Alfred Fagon award-winner and George Devin Award 2022 finalist, Mojisola Adebayo. Previous works include FAMILY TREE (ATC, 2023), NOTHELLO (Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, 2022), MUHAMMAD ALI AND ME (2008 and 2016), I STAND CORRECTED (2012) and MOJ OF THE ANTARCTIC (2005) (all Ovalhouse, London).
The HandleBards cycle from venue to venue bringing their unique brand of Shakespeare to audiences across the globe.
Join them at the Cockpit Theatre for an unhinged and bonkers, laugh-out-loud version of Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’.With music, mayhem and more costume changes than you can shake a spear at, expect the HandleBards usual irreverent, charming and hilarious style to come bursting onto the stage.
Performance Times: 2:30 pm & 7:30 pm
This most famous of fantasy ballets for all the family begins as night falls on Christmas Eve.
As snowflakes fall outside, the warm glow of the open fire sends flickering shadows across the boughs of the Christmas tree and all the presents beneath.
When midnight strikes we are swept away to a fairy-tale world where nothing is quite as it seems, toy dolls spring to life, the Mouse-king and his mouse-army battle with the Nutcracker Prince and we travel through the Land of Snow to an enchanted place where the magic really begins…
Founded in 1947 and currently celebrating their 75th anniversary, the critically acclaimed Varna International Ballet comes to the UK for the very first time.
Renowned for its award-winning soloists and magnificent corps de ballet, the company has been delighting audiences for decades at home and abroad with its performances of the highest quality. A truly international ballet company featuring soloists from Ukraine, Spain, Italy, Germany, and France.
