Sheila's Island brings catastrophic comedy to Liverpool Playhouse

Move over Neville and co, it’s the ladies who are donning the cagouls and packing the compasses in a new version of Tim Firth’s hit stage comedy which comes to the Playhouse next spring.

Sheila’s Island arrives at Williamson Square in April.

It’s Bonfire night 2019 and Sheila, Denise, Julie, and Fay are Team C in Pennine Mineral Water Ltd’s annual team-building weekend.

Somehow, Sheila has been nominated team leader, and, using her cryptic crossword solving skills, has unwittingly stranded her team on an island in the Lake District.

Here Firth’s intrepid heroines find themselves manufacturing weapons from cable ties and spatulas and creating a rescue flag with plastic plates and a toasting fork.

Is it possible to build an adequate night shelter with a prom dress and a sleeveless jumper? What is Julie’s husband really up to in Aldi? And why are they on this team building exercise when they could be at a spa?

The new show from the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, which was originally due to tour the UK in 2020, is directed by Joanna Read and stars Judy Flynn as the titular Sheila, appearing alongside Sara Crowe, Rina Fatania and Abigail Thaw.

Tim Firth says: “As a male writer I initially thought what happens on the island could only happen between men. It took Joanna Readto remind me that shoddy, childish and viciously destructive behaviour is not the exclusive preserve of the male sex.”

Sheila’s Island is at Liverpool Playhouse from April 5-9, 2022. Tickets from the website HERE