Liverpool favourite Her Benny at the Royal Court
It’s been a favourite read for generations of Liverpool children – and now Her Benny is returning to the stage.
Producer Anne Dalton is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the musical version of Silas Hocking’s rags to riches tale with a special new production at the Royal Court.
The Dickensian-style story of Liverpool street children was first published in 1879 and enjoyed great success, selling more than one million copies while Hocking, a Methodist minister, was still alive.
Her Benny tells the story of 10-year-old slum child Benny Bates who works on the streets of Liverpool while his younger sister Nelly sells matches.
With an alcoholic father and a dead mother, the youngsters’ plight looks bleak – apart from the support of kindly night watchman Joe Wragg. Tragedy strikes more than once, but Benny is finally given a fresh chance to make something of his life.
More than 800,000 people have seen Her Benny since Anne Dalton brought it to the stage in 1993.
Royal Court executive producer Kevin Fearon says: “Everybody in Liverpool knows Her Benny so well from their childhood and I’m no different. When Anne came to me to talk about bringing the show here we all agreed that the show would be a perfect fit for our audience.
“We don’t do a lot of family shows here so it will be a great opportunity for our regulars to bring their children and grandchildren and introduce them to the Royal Court.”
Her Benny is at the Royal Court from January 25 to February 10. Tickets from the website HERE