Liverpool Theatre Festival announces first shows for 2022 event
Liverpool Theatre Festival returns this September and the first shows have now been revealed.
The award-winning annual festival will run at St Luke’s Bombed Out Church from August 31 to September 11 with the programme including drama, cabaret, comedy, musicals, family shows, drag and opera.
Laughterhouse Comedy returns to stage two shows on Friday, September 2 with a line-up of top comedians yet to be announced.
Ma Joyce’s Tales From the Parlour, being staged on Sunday, September 4, is written and performed by Victoria Evaristo. The play, set in Liverpool, tells the story of a mixed-race grandmother of Nigerian and Irish heritage, as she celebrates her birthday and revisits the people and places from her past.
Absolute Opera presents an evening of Opera Beneath the Stars at the venue on Thursday, September 8 with performers including tenor Roy Locke and soprano Leigh Rhianon Coggins, accompanied by Per Nielsen on piano.
On Friday, September 9 there will be two performances of 97+, a drama based on the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, and which was first seen at the Little LTF festival of new writing earlier this year.
Above; 97+ Top: Liverpool Theatre Festival. Photo by David Munn.
Dame Fanny and the Starlets, described as a family-friendly drag show, comes to the festival on Saturday, September 10, as does ‘dragstravaganza’ Drag Me to the Church.
And then on the final day of the festival, audiences can enjoy the West End and Off-Broadway hit show Julie, Madly, Deeply – a charming and cheeky cabaret homage to Dame Julie Andrews, and Looking For Me Friend – The Music of Victoria Wood, performed by cabaret performer and TV personality Paulus.
More shows are still to be announced.
The open-air festival, now in its third year, was the brainchild of producer Bill Elms who wanted to create something to help creatives struggling during the Covid lockdown, and to continue to offer live theatre to city audiences.
Above: Bill Elms. Photo by Wesley Storey.
He says: “It’s just two months to go until the curtain rises on the third annual Liverpool Theatre Festival, and we are thrilled to announce the first eight shows.
“The festival was created out of a love and need for live performance during a very difficult time, giving creatives and performers a much-needed platform to entertain audiences once again, and now, along with Little LTF, it’s gone on to become an important theatrical event in Liverpool’s cultural calendar, thanks to its growing popularity.
“We continue to strive to offer a strong and diverse programme, and the announcement of the first productions showcases just a small taster of what we can offer festivalgoers this year.
"I'm delighted to invite new play 97+ to be part of the main Liverpool Theatre Festival after it received such an incredible reception in Little LTF – powerful and emotional, audiences need the opportunity to see this work again.”
Liverpool Theatre Festival runs from August 31 to September 11. More details and tickets HERE