By The Waters of Liverpool embarks on national tour

A national tour of author Helen Forrester’s By the Waters of Liverpool is set to kick off at home on the banks of the Mersey this spring.

The play, which comes from the same creative team as the popular Twopence to Cross the Mersey, will open at the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton from March 3-8.

The 11-week, 17 date tour will also come to Warrington Parr Hall on March 14-15, St Helens Theatre Royal from March 17-21, Southport Theatre on March 27-28 and the Epstein Theatre from May 4-9.

By The Waters Of Liverpool is set in the 1930s, and follows Helen’s story in the years after her father faced bankruptcy in the Depression and the family were forced to leave their middle-class life and start again.

Taken out of school to look after her young siblings, Helen wages a bitter war with her parents for the right to go out to work and make her own way in life.

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.

The touring cast includes Sian Reeves and Liverpool favourite Mark Moraghan.

Reeves has recently been seen in living rooms across the country in Coronation Street, and she will be returning to the cobbles in late January as part of a key storyline.

Reeves and Moraghan are joined by Parry Glasspool, Lucy Dixon, Eric Potts, Lynn Francis, Danny O’Brien, Roy Carruthers, and Chloe McDonald.

Above: Writer Rob Fennah with author Helen Forrester. Top: By the Waters of Liverpool (photo Anthony Robling)

Writer Rob Fennah, who also penned Twopence to Cross the Mersey (both the original musical and more recent stage play) said: “Although Helen is no longer with us, she is always in my thoughts.

"While I was writing By The Waters Of Liverpool, I imagined her looking over my shoulder to check all the little details were correct and in order.

“Even all these years on from adapting Twopence To Cross The Mersey, I can still hear her voice in my head saying ‘make sure you get it right Rob, this is my life we’re talking about here!’. It's a real privilege to be entrusted with her most famous works, but also a huge responsibility.”

The new production of By The Waters Of Liverpool, which was premiered at the Liverpool Empire last autumn, also features sizeable chunks from Helen’s earlier book Liverpool Miss, together with flashbacks to Twopence.