Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Nadia Anim, Emma Bispham, Richard Bremmer, Patrick Brennan, George Caple, Paul Duckworth, Marc Elliott, Cerith Flinn, Emily Hughes, Nathan McMullen, Zelina Rebeiro, George Rosheuvel, Keddy Sutton, Liam Tobin.
Band: George Francis, Rosalind Jones, Katie Foster, Matthew Henry, Alex Smith, Nick Anderson.
The year has perhaps been one of diverse feelings across the board in Liverpool, one in which reflection, triumphant returns, masterpieces and some sadness has been experienced. The Playhouse Theatre has undergone work for a while and yet held inside its doors one of the most magnificent scenes caught on camera as Annette Bening and Jamie Bell recreated one of the last days of the film star Gloria Graham for the cinematic love letter, Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool. The much loved Unity Theatre closed its doors for a time and reopened with a flourish as it too underwent a change in its decor and look and yet still retains the welcome that makes it one of the places to visit in the city.
Educatibg Rita at the Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool. Photograph by Stephen Vaughan.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Leanne Best, Con O’Neill.
The further we move away from a time in history, the more it seems to resonate with us in the present. In 1979 the social climate of the country changed, events and news from around the world started to mould Britain in a way not seen since the start of the Second World War and the pace of life altered, stagnation, alienation and guilt in some quarters, not enough in others, became a new breeding ground to hit people with a terrifying new stick with. Yet somehow, as if in rebellion to this flowering want, great music started to reflect the times once more and the mood of education was to be heard in many a great rock and pop song and into this world Willy Russell’s Educating Rita was born.
To the outsider, to those who either come into Liverpool once every year for a stag or hen night or the chance to lose heavily at Aintree, Liverpool may well seem a city of contrasts, a place in which many have pre-conceived ideas of how its people act, play, work and enjoy life. However to be an outsider who embraces the city and the surrounding areas with every fibre of being, that’s when the city really shows its vibrancy and complete uniqueness.
Niamh Cusack in June and the Paycock at the Liverpool Playhouse Theatre. Photograph by Stephen Vaughan.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10Cast: Niamh Cusack, Des McAleer, Neil Caple, Jonathan Charles, Louis Dempsey, Donal Gallery, Maggie McCarthy, Aoife McMahon, Robin Morrissey, Maureen O’ Connell, Fionn Walton.
When you have nothing, you can only go one way, unless of course life conspires against you so much that all your efforts, all the trials you have endured come back to haunt you and you end up with less than you could have imagined.
The Everyman has been announced as a winner in the 2014 Royal Institute of British Architects Awards (RIBA) National Award, the most rigorously-judged awards for architectural excellence. The winners go forward for consideration for the Stirling Award shortlist, which will be announced on 17th July.
Since it opened in March, the Everyman has already won the RIBA North West Building of the Year at the regional round in April. RIBA states that the National Award winning buildings ‘set the standard for good architecture; these are projects that go beyond the brief and exceed the client’s expectation’.
Rio Matchett for the last year has juggled the pressure of a second year of studying for her degree at the University of Liverpool and being President of a very successful Liverpool University Drama Society (L.U.D.S.). On the back of some incredible work by her, the amazing team she has had at her disposal, actors and back stage, L.U.D.S. has enjoyed great acclaim with the plays that have been produced which have included Jack Thorne’s Fanny and Faggot, Noel Coward’s Still Life and the tour de force that was Alan Bennett’s The History Boys.
Rio Matchett. Photograph by Ian D. Hall
One of the joys of being in a city such as Liverpool is the abundance of theatres that cater for all tastes and for all actors wishing to tackle the well-trodden boards and add their names to the list of watched and admired artists.