With less than three weeks to go until the start of the Liverpool Theatre Festival, organisers have published details of the full programme. Tony McDonough reports
Organisers of the forthcoming Liverpool Theatre Festival (LTF) have published the full programme of events.
Created by Liverpool theatre producer Bill Elms, the outdoor live entertainment festival was first staged in September 2020 to help support the city’s creative arts industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year’s festival runs from Wednesday, September 1, to Sunday, September 12, and is once again being staged at St Luke’s Bombed Out Church in Liverpool city centre. In July the seven-day ‘Little LTF’ was held to champion and showcase new works and talent and attracted 1,200 people.
Added to this year’s event is Swan Song, taking place at 7.30pm on Wednesday, September 8. This 70-minute shown was premiered at last year’s festival and is a one-man comedy play. It is written by multi award-winning Jonathan Harvey, stars TV and stage actor Andrew Lancel and is directed by BAFTA-winning Noreen Kershaw.
Opening the festival on September 1 is one-woman comedy show 2Gorgeous4U – From Ladette To Laundrette with performances at 5pm and 8pm. Written by acclaimed Liverpool playwright Mark Davies Markham, the production stars Lynne Fitzgerald (Two, Bunty The Bouncer, The Desperate Scousewives), with James Baker directing (Jerry Springer The Opera, Yank).
LTF producer and artistic director Bill Elms said: “With less than three weeks until the curtain rises on the second annual Liverpool Theatre Festival, excitement and anticipation are really kicking in.
“We have a diverse programme offering a fantastic line-up. Many of these shows are being premiered as part of the festival, and for others they are coming to Liverpool for the very first time.
LTF is funded by Liverpool City Council and Culture Liverpool, sponsored by Falconer Chester Hall, and supported by Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse Theatres and dBS Solutions. Click here for more details. The programme is:
2GORGEOUS4U
DATE: Wednesday 1 September 2021
TIMES: 5pm / 8pm
PRICE: £22
RUNNING TIME: 70 mins no interval
PERFECTLY FRANK
DATE: Thursday 2 September 2021
TIMES: 7.30pm
PRICE: £20
RUNNING TIME: 2 hours 20 mins including interval
THE LAST FIVE YEARS
DATE: Friday 3 September 2021
TIMES: 5pm / 8pm
PRICE: £22
RUNNING TIME: 75 mins no interval
WHEN ANOTHER DRAGON ROARS
DATE: Saturday 4 September 2021
TIME: 11.30am
PRICE: £14 / £12 Children
RUNNING TIME: 45 mins no interval
EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT MUSICALS
DATE: Saturday 4 September 2021
TIMES: 6pm / 8.30pm
PRICE: £22
RUNNING TIME: 75 mins no interval
BOING…MEOW! THE MUSICAL
DATE: Sunday 5 September 2021
TIME: 11.30am
PRICE: £12 / £10 Children
RUNNING TIME: 50 mins no interval
ELECTRIC DREAMS
DATE: Sunday 5 September 2021
TIMES: 4pm / 8pm
PRICE: £20 (4pm) £22 (8pm)
RUNNING TIME: 2 hours 10 mins including interval
AN EVENING WITHOUT KATE BUSH
DATE: Monday 6 September 2021
TIME: 7.30pm
PRICE: £20
RUNNING TIME: 2 hours including interval
TWICE NIGHTLY
DATE: Tuesday 7 September 2021
TIME: 7.30pm
PRICE: £16.50
RUNNING TIME: 70 mins no interval
SWAN SONG
DATE: Wednesday 8 September 2021
TIME: 7.30pm
PRICE: £20
RUNNING TIME: 70 mins no interval
OPERA BENEATH THE STARS
DATE: Thursday 9 September 2021
TIME: 7.30pm
PRICE: £28
RUNNING TIME: 2 hours including interval
BROKEN BISCUITS
DATE: Friday 10 September 2021
TIMES: 6pm / 8.30pm
PRICE: £22
RUNNING TIME: 60 mins no interval
TWELFTH NIGHT BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
DATE: Saturday 11 September 2021
TIME: 1pm
PRICE: £14 / £12 Children
RUNNING TIME: 2 hours including interval
LAUGHTERHOUSE COMEDY
DATE: Saturday 11 September 2021
TIMES: 6pm / 8.30pm (line-up varies slightly between shows)
PRICE: £22
RUNNING TIME: N/A
GOLDILOCKS AND THE FAB 4
DATE: Sunday 12 September 2021