Skip to main content Skip to footer site map

BY THE WATERS OF LIVERPOOL Will Embark on UK Tour

The tour kicks off in Liverpool at the Epstein Theatre Wednesday 6 September – Saturday 16 September 2023.

BY THE WATERS OF LIVERPOOL Will Embark on UK Tour

A brand new stage production documenting the early life of best-selling author Helen Forrester is going back on the road during Autumn 2023 after its inaugural tour came to a standstill at the start of the Covid pandemic.

Helen Forrester has won a legion of fans across the world with her enigmatic and touching portrayal of her life story in four volumes of autobiography Twopence To Cross The Mersey, Liverpool Miss, By The Waters of Liverpool, and Lime Street At Two.

After a number of years in the planning, the eagerly awaited By The Waters Of Liverpool production began a 17-venue UK tour spanning almost three months - however the curtain came down just two weeks in as the country went into a national lockdown.

Fast forward almost three years, and the team behind the production is thrilled to announce the show's return with By The Waters Of Liverpool Autumn 2023 UK Tour.

The new eight-week tour will visit 12 venues starting in Liverpool and finishing in New Brighton - both locations hugely important in Helen's life story.

The tour opens with a 10-date run at Liverpool's Epstein Theatre from 6 September 2023, and concludes with six days at the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton in late October - just a few miles from where Helen Forrester was born in Wirral.

Between Liverpool and New Brighton, the production will also visit venues in Crewe, Coventry, Sale, Rhyl, Darlington, Lichfield, St Helens, Southport, Halifax, and Lytham.

By The Waters Of Liverpool is a stunning period drama produced by the team who brought the smash-hit Twopence To Cross The Mersey to the stage. It also features sizeable chunks from Helen's earlier book Liverpool Miss, together with flashbacks to Twopence To Cross The Mersey and elements of Lime Street At Two to give audiences a complete picture of her life.

The new touring production of By The Waters Of Liverpool is once again produced by Rob Fennah and Lynn McDermott for Pulse Records Limited and Bill Elms. The show is directed by Gareth Tudor Price.

The cast will be announced in the coming weeks.

Millions of people worldwide are familiar with Helen Forrester's life story which is told through her best-selling volumes of autobiography Twopence To Cross The Mersey, Liverpool Miss, By The Waters Of Liverpool, and Lime Street At Two.

Helen's literary achievements were further celebrated in 2020 to mark her 100th Birthday when an iconic Blue Plaque was unveiled at the late author's family home in Hoylake on the Wirral, a place which featured heavily in her work.

The tour announcement follows a successful tour of its predecessor Twopence To Cross The Mersey which toured the UK throughout Autumn 2022 to rave reviews.

Writer Rob Fennah enjoyed a long friendship with Helen Forrester since adapting her first book Twopence To Cross The Mersey into a stage musical in 1994. It premiered at the Liverpool Empire Theatre and Helen travelled from her home in Edmonton, Canada, to see first-hand her story brought to life on stage. Rob later went on to develop Twopence into a straight play which has toured successfully since its first outing in 2015.

Since the author's death in 2011, Rob has remained friends with Helen's son Robert Bhatia. The productions are fully endorsed by the Helen Forrester Estate.

By The Waters Of Liverpool has sold more than a million books. It is set in the 1930s after Helen's father went bankrupt during the Depression. Her family were forced to leave behind the nannies, servants and comfortable middle-class life in the South West of England. The Forrester's chose Liverpool to rebuild their shattered lives. They were in for a terrible shock. Taken out of school to look after her young siblings, Helen is sick of being treated as an unpaid slave and begins a bitter fight with her parents for the right to go out to work and make her own way in life. But by 1939 and with Britain on the verge of war Helen, now aged 20, has still never been kissed by a man. But things start looking up for her when she meets a tall strong seaman and falls in love.

Writer and Producer Rob Fennah commented: "When By The Waters Of Liverpool was forced to close back in March 2020, we all thought it was a setback and we'd be back on the road within a few months. It never occurred to us that it would be over three years before the show would hit the stage again. As with everyone working in the arts at that time, it proved to be a very difficult period forcing many talented people to leave the industry for good. But in true Helen Forrester style, we managed to survive and now want audiences to know that By The Waters Of Liverpool is coming back, bigger and better than ever."

Helen Forrester's son, Robert Bhatia, said: "The partnership between playwright Rob Fennah and my mother Helen, and her legacy, has been outstanding."

Helen Forrester's best-selling volumes of autobiography include Twopence To Cross The Mersey, Liverpool Miss, By The Waters Of Liverpool, and Lime Street At Two.

Tour Dates

LIVERPOOL - EPSTEIN THEATRE
Wednesday 6 September - Saturday 16 September 2023
www.epsteintheatre.co.uk

CREWE - LYCEUM
Monday 18 September - Tuesday 19 September 2023
www.crewelyceum.co.uk

COVENTRY - ALBANY THEATRE
Wednesday 20 September - Thursday 21 September 2023
www.albanytheatre.co.uk

SALE - WATERSIDE
Friday 22 September - Saturday 23 September 2023
www.watersidearts.org

RHYL - PAVILION
Tuesday 26 September - Wednesday 27 September 2023
www.rhylpavilion.co.uk

DARLINGTON - HIPPODROME
Friday 29 September - Saturday 30 September 2023
www.darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk

LICHFIELD - GARRICK
Tuesday 3 October - Wednesday 4 October 2023
www.lichfieldgarrick.com

ST HELENS - THEATRE ROYAL
Monday 9 October - Wednesday 11 October 2023
www.sthelenstheatreroyal.com

SOUTHPORT- THE ATKINSON
Thursday 12 October - Saturday 14 October 2023
www.theatkinson.co.uk

HALIFAX - VICTORIA THEATRE
Monday 16 October - Tuesday 17 October 2023
www.victoriatheatre.co.uk

LYTHAM - LOWTHER PAVILION
Thursday 19 October - Saturday 21 October 2023
www.lowtherpavilion.co.uk

NEW BRIGHTON - FLORAL PAVILION
Tuesday 24 October - Sunday 29 October 2023
www.floralpavilion.com



Photos: First Look EUGENIUS At Turbine Theatre Photo
Eugenius! is currently playing at The Turbine Theatre at Battersea Power Station. See first look photos from the show!

Pascal Theatre Company Announces Revival Tour Of Julia Pascals A MANCHESTER GIRLHOOD Photo
​​​​​​​Pascal Theatre Company has announced the revival of Julia Pascal's play A Manchester Girlhood, based on the lives of three Manchester Jewish women and their Romanian immigrant parents. The show opens at Blackpool Old Electric Theatre on 20 April, Manchester Jewish Museum on 23 April, followed by London dates at Burgh House on 17 May and a run at JW3 from 21 – 23 May 2023. 

Fifteen-Year-Old Nellie Regan To Stage Fundraiser For The Union Theatre Featuring West End Photo
Nellie Regan is on a mission to save the Union Theatre with a fundraising concert at The Other Palace, on Monday 27th March at 7:30pm.

David Sabella to Perform at The Pheasantry in London in April Photo
David Sabella will perform at The Pheasantry on April 21-22 at 7pm. 


More Hot Stories For You


400 Companies From Over 58 Countries Converge On Budapest For The Tenth Theatre Olympics400 Companies From Over 58 Countries Converge On Budapest For The Tenth Theatre Olympics
March 23, 2023

From Easter to Midsummer's night, Budapest and Hungary will become a celebratory meeting point for theatrical world as 400 companies from 58 countries converge to perform in the 10th International Theatre Olympics.

Cast Revealed and Tour Dates Set For THE BOOK OF WILLCast Revealed and Tour Dates Set For THE BOOK OF WILL
March 23, 2023

A brand-new production of Lauren Gunderson's award-winning comedy, The Book of Will, is coming to UK audiences this year in its European premiere.

John Godber and Jane Thornton Are LIVING ON FRESH AIR at Scarborough's Stephen Joseph Theatre This SpringJohn Godber and Jane Thornton Are LIVING ON FRESH AIR at Scarborough's Stephen Joseph Theatre This Spring
March 23, 2023

The John Godber Company is bringing a brand-new John Godber comedy to Scarborough's Stephen Joseph Theatre next month.

Tour Dates Announced For Frantic Assembly's Adaptation of Franz Kafka's METAMORPHOSISTour Dates Announced For Frantic Assembly's Adaptation of Franz Kafka's METAMORPHOSIS
March 23, 2023

Full tour dates have been announced for Frantic Assembly’s new adaptation of Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, a collaboration between internationally celebrated poet, playwright and broadcaster Lemn Sissay OBE and Frantic Assembly’s Artistic Director Scott Graham (Othello, Lovesong, Beautiful Burnout).  

47th ST MAGNUS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL Set For This June47th ST MAGNUS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL Set For This June
March 23, 2023

Under the directorship of Scottish composer Alasdair Nicolson, this year's multi-artform programme spans the world premiere of David McNeish's new play, Thora, directed by Gerda Stevenson, brings superb dance in the form of Scottish Ballet's debut, sees its first major outdoor installation from Architects of Air, and of course a strong music line-up courses through it.