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Unity Theatre presents Open Call Programme season of work


A trilogy of shows by Liverpool theatre company All Things Considered and an interactive family Christmas show are among the busy new season of shows announced by the Unity Theatre.

The Hope Place venue’s summer and autumn schedule is packed with work being created by artists and companies through its Open Call programme.

A total of 22 creatives and companies will present shows and other related events between now and Christmas, along with other productions which together amount to 40 events involving more than 100 artists.

Among then are All Things Considered, which was founded in Liverpool in 2013 and which is opening the Unity programme this month with The Storm Shepherd, an interactive audio piece to enjoy at home by youngsters and their grown-ups.

It will also stage Sleepover – a recreation of youthful sleepover parties - in Unity 2 between July 28-31, and Pram Talk, an online audio experience, from August 2-15.

The theatre’s online programme also includes Tamasha Theatre Company and Titilola Dawudu’s Hear Me Now: Audition Monologues - Volume 2, part of Creative’pool; Amina Atiq’s Scouse Pilgrimage from May 17-22, The Battle of Wits by Gold Maria Akanbi – from May 19-23, and Touchy – presented by the Unity in association with 20 Stories High from May 26-29.

Andrew Lancel in Swan Song. Photo by David Munn. Top: Ugly Bucket' Good Grief.


The first live show in the theatre itself will be Jonathan Harvey’s Swan Song, starring Unity patron Andrew Lancel, which was a hit at last year’s Liverpool Theatre Festival. It runs on July 1-3.

Liverpool clowning company Ugly Bucket brings Good Grief to the stage from July 8-10, followed by Fabiola Santana in association with Unity and Contact presenting A Home For Grief from July 13-17.

Rickety Fidgets is at Unity One on July 23 with The Masked Femme, and Sian Davies takes over the space on July 24 with About Time.

Both shows are supported through Unity’s Open Call programme, as is a series of Up Next shows including Leianna Boodaghian with The Weight of Repopulating a Nation and Alice Bunker-Whitney’s A Greasy Spoon, both on September 17, and Victoria Oxley with Stayin’ Alive on September 18.

Out the Attic presents …That’s What She Said on September 25, and the irrepressible Teatro Pomodoro finally brings its show Sirens, Men and Crabs – which was due to form part of Unity’s 40th birthday a last year – to the theatre from October 7-9.

October also sees Out of The Narrow Place: A Ritual for Black Descendants of Slaves by One September/Aleasha Chaunte (Oct 14), Sh!t Theatre’s Sh!t Theatre Drink (Oct 15-16) and How to Kill a Rose by Transcend Theatre on October 23.

Outside the Igloo


Finally, this year’s Unity Christmas show comes from The Knotted Project and Hawk Dance Theatre who present Outside the Igloo – which tells the now-familiar tale of leaving your home again after a long time indoors. It runs from December 7-19.

All in-venue work will also be available to watch online at a Pay What You Can rate.

Unity artistic director Gordon Miller said: “The season is a response to the complexity of what we’ve experienced over the last 12 months, both in terms of the content and the artists we’re working with.

Along with the Pay What You Can online content, the Unity is also committed to making sure its entire inhouse programme of work is captioned and audio described.

And it believes it is the first venue in the UK to launch a Programmers Portal, where video recordings and tour details for creatives will be available for other venue programmers across the country to view from the comfort of their own locations. It will be launched this summer.

The season has been revealed as part of a joint announcement with the Everyman and Playhouse and the Royal Court who have also unveiled their new shows today.

For more on all the new Unity shows, visit the website HERE

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