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Liverpool theatre shows this February
With New Year now in the rear-view mirror, Easter on the far horizon and nights definitely getting just that little bit lighter, it’s the ideal time to squeeze in a trip to the theatre – or three. Liverpool venues have live performance covered in the shortest month of the year with a range of productions from big and bold musicals to intimate storytelling, and from comedy to hard-hitting drama. February kicks off with a return to the Empire stage for Tudor smash hit SIX the M
Theatre
Review: The Peaceful Hour 2 at Liverpool's Royal Court ***1/2
Back in the day, many a Merseysider would make a late-night date with Radio City’s The Peaceful Hour – tuning in to drop off to its soothing musical vibes and the dulcet tones of one Pete Price Esq. It means before anyone even reaches for the radio dial on stage, there’s an immediate layer of nostalgia which underpins The Peaceful Hour 2, playwright Gerry Linford’s amiable, knockabout late night-set sequel to the titular comedy which was premiered at the Royal Court 12 months
Cast revealed for Little Shop of Horrors at Liverpool Playhouse
Liverpool favourite Michael Starke will return to the Playhouse this Christmas to appear in a new production of Little Shop of Horrors. He will play flower shop owner Mr Mushnik in the cult comedy-sci fi musical which comes to the Williamson Square theatre from December 3 to January 9, 2027. Starke previously appeared at the Playhouse for Christmas in 2016 when he played the Chairman in Michael Wynne’s music hall show The Star to mark the 150 th anniversary of the theatre. T
Review: The Ghost of Graves End at the Unity Theatre ****1/2
Two months after his one-woman tragi-comedy Stella roared on to the Unity stage, busy Liverpool playwright Robert Farquhar is back with another whirlwind of a show. And if you are a fan of Farquhar, and particularly his work with - the now sadly defunct – Big Wow, a sucker for a chilling theatrical experience or a lover of off-the-wall comedy, you won’t want to miss it. Ostensibly an affectionate homage to, and send-up of, ghost stories like Susan Hill’s ever popular The Wom
Review: KITTEL at the Unity Theatre ****
Everyone is aware of the phrase – all it takes for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing. Good and evil is, in theory at least, binary and stark. Black and white. Right and wrong. But reality, that place where good intentions and moral certainties come up against human frailty – greed, ambition, cowardice, self-interest, indifference - is much more grey and muddy than that. Catherine Harrison’s quietly powerful and thought-provoking new play, brought to the Unity Theat
Follow the Dream at Shakespeare North this February
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is at Shakespeare North Playhouse this week, direct from the Globe in London. Shakespeare’s much-loved sprite-ly comedy is being staged at the Prescot venue’s Cockpit Theatre until tomorrow at the start of a national tour. The show, which explores the darker side of the Bard's seemingly mischievous tale, is a co-production between Shakespeare’s Globe and Headlong (with Bristol Old Vic and Leeds Playhouse). To escape a society ruled by tyrannical law,
Five shows to see at the Floral Pavilion in 2026
Theatre audiences and fans of live performance are in for a treat all over Merseyside during 2026 – including at the Floral Pavilion. The New Brighton venue has lined up a programme of music, comedy, cabaret, children’s shows and drama for audiences to enjoy, including a return for acclaimed new Country musical Under the Mersey Moon and the unmissable Something About George which pays homage to the late, great George Harrison. Meanwhile there are plenty of other touring treat
Review: Mary Poppins at the Liverpool Empire *****
Author PL Travers actively disliked Disney’s Oscar-winning screen version of Mary Poppins with its dancing penguins, (in her view) overly sugary heroine and twee sentimentality and, perhaps more incomprehensibly, the Sherman Brothers’ soundtrack of songs. Apparently, she took a lot of persuading before agreeing to let Cameron Mackintosh create a stage version and only then with a whole raft of provisos – although she didn’t live to see the subsequent show premiere in the West
Review: Inspector Morse at the Liverpool Playhouse ***1/2
Inspector Morse was a TV staple in the 1980s and 90s, regularly pulling in audiences of up to 18 million and spawning not one but two successful spin off series – the latter, Endeavour, starring Liverpool’s own Shaun Evans. Morse's star John Thaw was just 45 when the first series was screened, albeit he wore middle age in worn-in fashion, which suited Colin Dexter's curmudgeonly character. Tom Chambers, who takes on detective duties in this first stage outing, is currently 48
Britannia Waves the Rules returns to Hope Street
A powerful and poignant play which takes an unflinching look at the challenges faced by working-class young men in Britain today is set to return to the Hope Street Theatre this month. Playwright Gareth Farr’s Britannia Waves the Rules received acclaim when it was staged at the venue last autumn. Now Wirral’s Off the Ground Theatre, which presented the original production, is bringing it back for three nights only, from January 14-16. Carl Jackson is a young man from Blackpoo
Top musicals coming to Liverpool in 2026
The news may feel unremittingly gloomy, so what better distraction from real life than the chance to immerse ourselves in the Technicolor world of stage musicals for an hour or two? The UK is rich with triple threat talent and a range of all-singing, all-dancing shows, and lots of them are heading for an auditorium near you over the next 12 months. Some – like Legally Blonde, Dirty Dancing, Little Shop of Horrors and Mamma Mia! - are dependable favourites, some are sheer musi
Review: Sleep Can Wait! at the Unity Theatre ****1/2
There’s no more delightful and heart-warming sound than the joyful giggle of a small child. And little voices are given a big platform in the Unity Theatre’s seasonal family offering Sleep Can Wait! which offers lots of gigglesome moments. After being missing in action for several years, it’s great news that a proper Christmas show for young ones has returned to the Hope Place stage. And I’m happy to report it’s as enchanting as you’d expect. It’s Christmas Eve and Steph, Sam
Review: Stocking Fillers at the Royal Court Studio ***1/2
Upstairs, a swearier than usual Mr Scrooge is being taught the error of his ways by three mysterious ‘ghosts’. Downstairs in the Royal Court Studio on the other hand, there are veteran fir tree fairies, megalomaniac elves, secret Santas, disastrous office parties and, above all, a reminder that this is the season of goodwill to all. The annual Royal Court Stocking Fillers is a chance for some who attend the theatre’s writing groups during the year to showcase their work in su
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