Sarah O'Hara

It’s that time of year - and Liverpool’s Royal Court are back with their latest festive production, The Scouse Dick Whittington.

Sat in Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre last night, I watched what can only be described as one of the most magnificent theatre shows I have ever seen in my life. Boys From The Blackstuff brings Alan Bleasdale’s 1982 TV series to the stage in a phenomenal adaptation by Sherwood writer James Graham.

The story of the Sandman has been told for generations in song, books and on the stage - and this time, it was the turn of Liverpool’s Royal Court Youth Theatre to bring the tale to life in Dream Team. And what happened when they did? Well - it was truly magical.

Macbeth has been brought to the stage once more in a phenomenal production of the drama at the Shakespeare North Playhouse.

This two-hour non-stop, quick-fire comedy is delivered superbly by a cast of familiar faces to Liverpool’s Royal Court and newcomers to the theatre’s main stage. 

Ahead of its run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Rubbish Romeo and Juliet took to the stage at the Liverpool Theatre Festival for one hour of hilarious fun, which had both adults and children alike cheering for more.

Take five talented improv performers, a murder mystery story and combine that with a plot line based on audience suggestions. What do you get? You get a slick, superb theatre show called Locomotive for Murder: The Improvised Whodunnit.

Originally performed in Chester as early as 1375, The Mystery Plays have been performed every five years in the city since 1951, with a cast of 150 actors, singers and musicians of all ages staging the 2023 production in the historic setting of the city’s beautiful cathedral.