Cal McCrystal to Direct CANOEING FOR BEGINNERS at Royal Court Liverpool

Acclaimed director Cal McCrystal is set to make a splash when he makes his Royal Court Liverpool debut this month with a four-week run of a comedy production.

Fresh from being a Physical Comedy Consultant on the Bafta nominated British film Paddington, Belfast-born Cal is directing in Liverpool for the first time with the Mike Yeaman comedy, Canoeing For Beginners.

Canoeing For Beginners is a comedy about real life, fake death and living the dream. It will run for four weeks from Friday, 30 January, to Saturday, 28 February 2015.

An actor turned director, Cal's impressive CV includes Comedy Director for One Man Two Guvnors at the National Theatre; Physical Comedy Consultant on Hollywood films The World's End; Spiderman 2, The Dictator; director for the international tour of An Evening With Noel Fielding; and Cirque du Soleil's Varekai and Zumanity.

Director Cal McCrystal said: "This is my first working visit to Liverpool and, as an Irishman, I feel enormously at home here. Working for Royal Court Liverpool is like being a child in a toyshop. Everything that you want, they give to you. This show is going to be one of the best of my career and I'm really excited about it."

Mike Yeaman returns to Royal Court Liverpool after almost five years. His last play at the theatre was the lotto comedy Lucky Numbers in 2010. The North Easterner is looking forward to again staging a play in North West.

Canoeing For Beginners is based around the story of a man who fakes his own death by getting into a canoe and paddling out to sea. His wife is ready to claim the insurance money but she needs to keep her nerve as the police and their two grown up children are sticking their oar in!

The story may sound familiar but any similarities to persons living or pretending to be dead are entirely coincidental.

An excellent cast has been confirmed as Pauline Fleming (Coronation Street), Harry Katsari (Comedy Of Errors), Michael Ledwich (Scouse Of The Antarctic), John McArdle (Brookside, Mersey Beat) and Angela Simms (Ladies Day).

Drowning in debt? Looking for a way out? When you are up the creek, the best thing that you can do is paddle!

Frank has had enough. After years of struggling to keep his head above water he's splashed out on a new canoe and departed this life. His wife Beryl knows that Frank is in a better place. Well, not right now - because he's hiding in the shed. But soon the pair of them will be relaxing in Cuba and spending the life insurance money.

It's a perfectly planned insurance scam and everything will go according to plan if they can keep it under their sunhats for a few more days. With two grown up kids trying to help and a persistent policeman sticking his nose in that might be trickier than they thought!

Kevin Fearon, Chief Executive of Royal Court Liverpool, added: "As soon as I read the script, I knew that it was a great fit for Royal Court Liverpool - guaranteeing lots of big laughs all the way through. We really enjoyed working with Mike last time and Cal has got some great ideas to make this one of the funniest Royal Court shows yet!"

To book tickets please call 0151 709 4321, go online at www.royalcourtliverpool.com, or in person at the Royal Court Liverpool Box Office from 10am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday.