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Review: The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher at Liverpool Everyman ****1/2
As titles go, The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher is certainly an arresting one. And, as the Everyman itself allows, a provocative one too – just as it was when Hilary Mantel’s controversial short story on which this new production is based was first published 12 years ago. Of course, the IRA tried it for real when they bombed the Grand Hotel in Brighton in the early hours of October 12, 1984, missing Margaret Thatcher but murdering five, including Eric Taylor, manager of
Liverpool European Festival 2026 most ambitious yet
Liverpool European Festival returns this weekend with a wide-ranging programme of community-led events and activities. The festival, a legacy of Liverpool’s hosting of the 2023 Eurovision on behalf of Ukraine, is now in its fourth year and organisers are promising the 2026 event is the most ambitious to date. It runs from May 9 to July 5. The festival is set to officially open on Europe Day this Saturday (May 9) with a large-scale public event at St Luke’s Bombed Out Church f
Review: The Rocky Horror Show at the Liverpool Empire ****
It’s astounding, time really is fleeting – because it seems only a matter of months ago that Rocky Horror was at the Playhouse. But in reality that was Christmas 2024, and now Richard O’Brien’s timeless shlocky horror juggernaut has rolled back into town again (fresh from a New Zealand sojourn), returning to its usual Liverpool Empire stamping ground with a mixture of a few familiar and lots of fresh faces among the cast. Two years ago, Jason Donovan appeared in a handful of
Review: Single White Female at the Liverpool Playhouse ****
Single White Female was one of several psychological thrillers that put the fear of God into cinemagoers in the late 80s and early 90s, alongside films like Fatal Attraction and The Hand that Rocks the Cradle. And this new stage version of surely the second bloodiest flat share after Shallow Grave has a hint of both the infamous bunny boiler tale AND vengeful nanny vehicle about it. Rebecca Reid’s modern-day adaptation is described as ‘based on’ the original John Lutz novel/J
Spend An Evening with Sir David Jason at the Liverpool Empire
Liverpool audiences are being invited to spend ‘an evening with’ acting knight Sir David Jason when he visits the Empire theatre. The stage and screen star will be at the Lime Street landmark on January 9, 2027, as part of a nationwide tour. Tickets go on general sale this Friday, May 1. The show promises to be an unforgettable evening of fun, laughter, and never-before-heard stories. From Only Fools and Horses, Open All Hours, The Darling Buds of May, A Touch of Frost, Dange
Review: Conteh at Liverpool's Royal Court ****
When Aron Julius first had the idea of embodying Liverpool boxing legend John Conteh on stage, he felt sure there must already be a play out there he could bring to life for a live audience. There wasn’t it seems. So rather than abandon the idea, Julius decided to write his own. Initially conceived as a one-man vehicle, with the boxer directly relating the much-chronicled highs and lows of his life and career, Julius – at that time appearing in the Royal Court’s acclaimed pro
Review: Miss Saigon at the Liverpool Empire ****
It’s been two decades since Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s ‘Nam-set wartime weepie Miss Saigon last touched down on the Empire stage – practically the same length of time as the entire conflict lasted. Has it been worth the wait for Liverpool audiences? It appears so. But it’s not entirely the same creature fans of the dramatic retelling of the Madama Butterfly story may have encountered before, with Michael Harrison and Cameron Mackintosh – sharing producer cred
Lourdes of laughs in Cured at Liverpool's Royal Court
Laurence Clark’s new stage comedy Cured is set to be premiered at Liverpool’s Royal Court next month – and it turns out the award-winning writer and comedian drew on his own life when it came to the inspiration for his plot. For some, a pilgrimage to Lourdes is all prayers, candles and proper holy contemplation. For the mad bunch of disabled Scousers in Clark's play, it's bevvies, mucking about and getting off with each other… and definitely no bleeding miracle cures. After c
Review: Double Indemnity at the Liverpool Playhouse ***
The 1927 murder trial of housewife Ruth Snyder and her lover Henry Judd Gray was a sensation - and among the phalanx of press in the New York courtroom were two writers who would go on to use it as inspiration for fictional tales. Journalist Sophie Treadwell revisited the murderous crime in her 1928 play Machinal. And then in 1936, fellow hack James M Cain produced his novel Double Indemnity, the cautionary tale of an insurance agent and a discontented wife who together plot
Jackie Clune talks Rocky Horror ahead of Empire date for cult classic
When Jackie Clune was first approached to play the Narrator in The Rocky Horror Show it’s perhaps fair to say she wasn’t really aware of what she had signed up for. Although she had watched the film at some point, she reveals she had never actually seen Richard O’Brien’s cult smash hit stage show. At least not until the day before she went on for the first time. “It was a bit of an eye opener,” she admits. “I didn’t really know what’s going on. “If you don’t know the plot, it
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