October 5-29
The Rivals
Liverpool Playhouse
https://www.everymanplayhouse.com/
4*
Where to start, and where is it all going to end up? A plot so convoluted you could even say, the play’s not the thing:
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September 27
Shakespeare, his wife & the dog
on tour until November 23
Liverpool Playhouse Studio
https://www.everymanplayhouse.com/
4*
A palpable miss – could have been me, I mean, having originally wondered can you be bothered making an hour’s round trip
July 1 – August 21
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre
www.grosvenorparkopenairtheatre.co.uk
www.storyhouse.com
3*
Bit of a misnomer since this tale reveals that of the two friends, Valentine may be a gentleman; Proteus decidely is not. It’s something of a tangled
May 24-28
The Merry Wives
Liverpool Playhouse
https://www.everymanplayhouse.com/
4*
The plot thickens…so much so that it is really quite hard to describe this play but always very easy to appreciate Northern Broadsides as they make merry, putting heart and soul into the production. So here goes: along with suitors competing for the hand of Ann Page, Sir John Falstaff has set his
May 20-21
on tour until October 1
The Complete Deaths
Liverpool Playhouse
https://www.everymanplayhouse.com/
3*
Put 2 and 2 together, and what have you got? Well, if that were 75 + 4, a whole better deal because you end up with ‘The Complete Deaths’ (Ie in Shakespeare’s plays) and renowned troupe, Spymonkey. Plus, you get even more for your money because the play within the play as it were,
April 14-16
Iphigenia in Splott
Everyman Liverpool
https://www.everymanplayhouse.com/
4*
If A Girl is a Half-formed Thing was kind of Greek Chorus, we’re bang up to date with a rap here, for all the eponymous title. Trouble is, only about half the dialogue is discernible. Annoyingly, you tend to miss a lot of the jokes, and there are a lot of jokes. It is also delivered so flamboyantly and often in such an exaggerated fashion, you also find yourself focussing on the curious pronunication (‘dare’ for ‘door’ etc).
April 5-9
A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing
Everyman Liverpool
https://www.everymanplayhouse.com/
4*
Now you know what a tour de force is – and it’s very unlikely you will come across another such stunning production the rest of this year.
An extraordinary play, based on an extraordinary book by Eimear McBride’s, it’s a horribly familiar story, and familiarity does indeed breed contempt.
March 8-12
The Herbal Bed
Liverpool Playhouse
https://www.everymanplayhouse.com/
4*
For those who have only a little Latin, quite a lot of the dialogue may be all Greek, but otherwise, you certainly learn a lot about plants and medicine. Not to mention the idiosyncracies, and the idiocy, of human behaviour and the restrictions of Church and Society.
February 6-27
The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary
Everyman Liverpool
https://www.everymanplayhouse.com/whats-on/arthur-millers-hook
4*
Quite a misnomer, because in fact, there seems to be nothing else quite like Peepolykus, so, of course, ‘The Massive Tragedy of Madame Bovary’ is equally matched by a massive amount of laughs.
It matters not if you have read the book
November 28-January 23
Rapunzel: Hairway to Heaven
Everyman Liverpool
https://www.everymanplayhouse.com/
4*
See one panto, and you’ve seen them all…oh no, you haven’t!