Summer - 13 - Brochure

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what’s on ..........................................................

0844 873 2888 | unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk

Welcome to your theatre.

There’s nothing better than a good story.

This is a season of epic tales packed with world premieres, adaptations of cult classics and acclaimed comedy. We’re also celebrating ten years of LGBT festival, Homotopia and welcoming world-class companies and performers to our stage.

But we’re more than just a theatre - through our Making Art programme companies develop ambitious new work which goes on tour nationally while our education team is delivering dynamic activities for schools and community groups.

Thank you for continuing to support us - seeing shows and generously donating – unity is your theatre, your success story, yours to enjoy.

unitytheatre unitytheatre youtube.com/unitytheatre

Translunar Paradise by Theatre Ad Infinitum – Photo by Alex Brenner

Booking Tickets Once upon a time, in a town with no cats, arrived a swarm of ravenous rats.

They ate up the chocolate, they ate up the pie, they ate up so much the mayor started to cry!

Can nobody save us? Will nobody try?

When all of a sudden a Piper came by...

I’ll rid you of rats, both thin and both long, I’ll do it with music, I’ll do it with song!

But sadly the town was unwilling to pay, so one of the children must save the day!

A family show with song, dance and fun, a musical adventure perfect for everyone.

A unitytheatre production in association with Action Transport Theatre Directed by Nina Hajiyianni Written by Kevin Dyer Music & lyrics by Patrick Dineen

Perfect for ages 5+ www.thepiedpiperliverpool.co.uk www.actiontransporttheatre.org Live in Ellesmere Port?

Check out our performances at Whitby Hall More info at www.actiontransporttheatre.co.uk

1. Select Date

The colour of the time relates to the price it will cost to go:

December

Tue 3 Sat 7 Sat 14 Fri 20 Sat 21 Mon 23

January

Thu 2 Fri 3 Sat 4 Sat 11

6pm 2pm & 5:30pm 2pm & 5:30pm 2pm & 5:30pm 2pm & 5:30pm 11am & 2pm

2pm & 5:30pm 2pm & 5:30pm 2pm & 5:30pm 11am & 2pm

2. Find Prices

Different performances are available at different prices

• £12 adults | £10 children £40 (4 tickets - min 1 child)

• £10 adults | £8 children £34 (4 tickets - min 1 child)

• £8 all tickets £30 (4 tickets - min 1 child)

(depending on demand, date and time)

The only fees we charge are 50p

per transaction for card payments and £1 to send tickets out!

3. Book Tickets

You can book online, by phone or in person at our Hope Place box office (1 Hope Place, L1 9BG).

4. Enjoy The Show

July

Markus Birdman & Vikki Stone

Tue 23 | ComedyPreviews

Markus Birdman performs regularly at The Comedy Store and internationally while acclaimed musical comedian Vikki Stone’s show Hot Mess sold out at Edinburgh 2012!

8pm | £8

August

September

Jackie and Eddie.

Eddie and Jackie.

Fri 2 – Sat 3 | Drama

Liverpool. Two actors. Jackie is thinking of giving up on acting while Eddie is trying to find happiness through spirituality, meditation and writing his next (first) novel. Have their dreams gone forever?

A Crumbs Theatre production

8pm | £10 (£8 conc)

James Acaster & John Robins

Wed 24 | ComedyPreviews

How to Fall in Love

James Acaster was nominated for the Fosters Comedy Award and has appeared on Dave’s One Night Stand while John Robins has appeared on Russell Howard’s Good News!

A love affair, a date, an adventure through the streets of Liverpool.

A promenade performance for audience members who don’t know each other.

8pm | £8

Love Comedy?

Book for both July comedy previews for just £14!

6 | boxoffice: 0844 873 2888

Tue 6 – Wed 7 | Promenade

Created by Tim Jeeves, Graham Hicks and learning disability theatre company RAWD.

From 7pm every 20 mins £9 (£7 conc)

Open Day

Sat 7 | FreeActivities Join us for a day of fun and excitement for all the family!

Jam packed with arts and crafts stalls, new performances, tours of the building, lighting demonstrations, acoustic music, workshops and much more! All for free!!

Refreshments, buggy park and family picnic area are available.

12pm – 6pm | FREE

The Importance Of Being Interested

Q &A

Robin Ince:

-T hu

12

My Top Five

Graeme Phillips Artistic Director

1. The Master and Margarita 2. Translunar Paradise 3. Beauty & The Beast 4. The Pied Piper 5. Chelsea Hotel The fourth annual play festival comes to unity for the first time with six brand new pieces.

Guardian Angel

by Margot Agnew

Wed 18 - 7pm | Fri 20 - 7pm A mother is drawn into occult practices with unexpected results.

Tue 10 | StandupComedy The award-winning comedian and science enthusiast looks at Darwin and Feynman! Find out why we have eyebrows, bald dogs have bad teeth and heavy metal makes pigs deaf!

Happiness

by Danny Whitehead

Wed 18 - 9pm | Fri 20 - 5pm A dark but uplifting exploration of love, rage, and forgiveness.

8pm | £14 (£12 conc)

Hoverin’ on the Edge

by Brian Brown

Thu 19 - 9pm | Sat 21 - 5pm Seeking to profit by volunteering two men are changed forever.

Last Tango at St Leonards

by Mari Lloyd

The Unthinkable Mystery Of The Indigo Star Spooky Tales Sat 14 | FamilyShow

Gasp, gawp and grin at stories of witches, ghosts and things that go bump in the night! Join Edward and Martha Creep as they tell terrifying tales as only a true Creep can!

Perfect for age 9+ A Petite Ullaloom production

11:30am & 2:30pm £8 Adults £6 Children

Wed 11 – Fri 13 | Comedy

A dead body, a missing jewel and a mysterious note in a Paris apartment.

Wed 18 - 5pm | Fri 20 - 9pm Financial crisis in the NHS. What could possibly go wrong?

The Road to Skibbereen

by Angela Walsh

Thu 19 - 5pm | Sat 21 - 9pm A poignant family story of trainers in the fridge and Lady Macbeth.

Sting Like a Butterfly

by Johnny Parker

Jules Maigret, Hercule Poirot and Inspector Jacques Clouseau board the Orient Express in pursuit of the villain on what promises to be a case to end all cases!

Thu 19 - 7pm | Sat 21 - 7pm Life alone is a tough fight for exboxer Biffo. Can Salsa save him?

A Gambolling Arena production Written by Ed Bixter Directed by Suzy Walker

£10 (£8 conc) Book 3 shows save £5 Book 6 shows save £12 *applies to full-price tickets only

8pm | £10 (£8 conc)

More details about Write Now at www.writenowfestival.co.uk

unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk | 7

&A Q ed -W 2 &

Tue 1 – Sat 12 Oct | Drama One of the greatest ever novels is brought to life in an epic new adaptation.

Riotously funny this multi-layered story combines the love affair of the century, Satan’s visit to Moscow, the final days of Christ and a fantastical cast of supernatural and historical figures.

Bulgakov’s wild imagination is brought to life by unitytheatre and the award-winning Lodestar Theatre using video, puppetry, magic, animation and performance to create an extraordinary show.

Original novel by Mikhail Bulgakov Adapted for the stage by Max Rubin Love the book? Join our book club – more information on our website!

Supported by Arts Council England, The Granada Foundation, PH Holt Foundation and LIPA

7:30pm 2pm - Sat 5, Wed 9 & Sat 12 £10 – £14 (£8 – £12 conc)

9

The Master and Margarita

October

Pat Shortt: I Am The Band

STATIk

Sat 19 | FamilyShow

Irish comedy legend Pat Shortt’s new one-man comedy show charts the life of Dixie Walsh a solo lounge musician struggling to get to the top of his game.

It’s Mikey’s first day at work. But when a mystery voice comes through the airwaves chaos ensues and rules fall away.

Energetic clowning and a vibrant soundtrack combine in a hilarious show for ages 5+.

Part of Liverpool Irish Festival

An Action Transport Theatre production

Tue 15 | StandupComedy

11:30am & 2:30pm £8 Adults, £6 Children

fre e

Q &A

8pm | £13 (£10.50 conc)

+

John Bishop How Did All This Happen Thu 10 | Fundraisingevent Comedy superstar, Liverpool icon and unitytheatre patron John Bishop talks about his new book, football, life and his stratospheric rise to fame!

All the proceeds from the evening will go to unitytheatre to support work in the community and with new artists, the event includes a Q&A, anecdotes, readings and signed copy of “John Bishop: How Did All This Happen”.

All the proceeds go to unitytheatre.

Max 4 tickets per customer.

Tickets on sale Thu 1 Aug 7pm | £65 including book

Hurricane Hill

Best of BE Festival

Hurricane Hill and the worst storm in years...

One evening.

Three award-winning shows.

At the isolated house of a famous recluse, a stranger arrives, and a past will finally be faced. Which life is more valuable; that of a child or a brother-in-arms?

Bringing the best international shows from Birmingham’s “boundary-smashing” (The Guardian) BE Festival. Visit our website for details.

Fri 18 – Sat 19 | Drama

8pm | £10 (£8 conc)

Tue 22 | Drama

8pm | £10 (£8 conc) unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk | 9

+

fre e

Q &A

October

Wed 23 | Comedy

Nick’s career is okay...

Eastenders... But he wants more!

So he flies to Hollywood and lives with an Academy Award winner, desperate for his own Oscar. But the passion Oscar incites can be very dangerous....

Written and starring Nick Cohen

Fri 25 | Drama

Tue 29 | Acoustic

««««« The Scotsman

The Canadian folk/blues star and multiple JUNO award-winner brings his distinctive blues sound to the UK. With eight solo albums, he has worked with Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, and Roseanne Cash.

He is supported by Liverpool acoustic duo TJ & Murphy.

Liverpool Daily Post Best Fringe Show 2011 After his wife passes away, William escapes to a paradise of past memories, far from the reality of his grief. A story of life, death and enduring love.

With TJ & Murphy

8pm | £10

A Theatre Ad Infinitum production

8pm | £12 (£10 conc) +

fre e

8pm | £10 (£8 conc)

Stephen Fearing

Q &A

Life Without Oscar

Translunar Paradise

Failure Lucy Porter: Northern Soul

Thu 24 | StandupComedy Does geography shape our destiny? Lucy Porter (seen on Mock The Week and Never Mind The Buzzcocks) seeks her spiritual home in this her best show yet!

8pm | £14 (£12 conc) 10 | boxoffice: 0844 873 2888

Middle Eastern Dance Showcase Sat 26 | Dance

A kaleidoscope of movement and colour brought to you by students and teachers from across Merseyside. Hosted by Sirocco Academy of Egyptian Dance, this vibrant evening of diverse dance from the Middle East promises to leave you dazzled!

8pm | £10 (£8 conc)

(& other opportunities for non-linear success) Wed 30 | PhysicalTheatre

««««

Exceunt Magazine

A fashion victim, aspiring pop diva, and chronic underachiever is consumed by delusional fantasies of commercial success.

A one-woman show combining visual absurdity, contemporary dance and social commentary.

8pm | £10 (£8 conc)

W or ld

Q &A

-F ri 1

Pr em ie re

November

10 years of Homotopia

Homotopia is the UK’s foremost LGBT art and cultural festival with over 50 events across Merseyside. This year we celebrate our 10th anniversary with an eclectic programme of festival firsts, world premieres and new commissions from international icons, artistic revolutionaries and creative dreamers. Our first festival was at unity and since then we’ve gone from strength to strength. Thanks for your support and hope to see you at the festival!

Gary Everett Homotopia Artistic Director www.homotopia.net

Of Saints and Go-go Boys

Wed 6 – Thu 7 | Dance Inspired by Jean Genet’s novel Our Lady of the Flowers, three outcasts search for a different kind of sainthood through glorious self-destruction. Mixing fantasy, reality and cheap glamour, Joseph Mercier’s engrossing dance is hedonistic, shocking and profane.

By PanicLab and Joseph Mercier Co-commissioned by Homotopia & unitytheatre

9pm - Wed 6 7pm & 9pm - Thu 7 £10 (£8 conc)

Chelsea Hotel

Fri 1 - Sat 2 | Theatre/Dance Take a journey to New York’s iconic Chelsea Hotel with the multi-award winning Earthfall.

A voyeuristic exploration of its inhabitants’ lives, loves and longings. From Warhol to Kerouac and Dylan Thomas to Patti Smith, stories both true and false combine through radical dance, live music and film, capturing significant moments in the history of this rebel artist mecca.

‘Check in’ to Chelsea Hotel, where every room has a story to tell.

An Earthfall production www.chelseahotel.org.uk

8pm | £12 (£10 conc)

Dickie Beau – Lost in Trans

Wed 6 – Thu 7 | Performance Inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses, performance phenomenon Dickie Beau breathes new life into found sound as he continues the drag tradition of lip synching using complex spoken word texts and multi-media.

A Southbank Centre commission supported by Jardin d’Europe

7:30pm - Wed 6 2:30pm - Thu 7 £10 (£8 conc)

Triple Dance Bill 9 Nov | Dance

A night of new works featuring all female dancers...

Young Man!

DeNada Dance Theatre Choreographed by Carlos Pons Guerra

Cameo Cookie By Gary Clarke Variations of the Heart

Tmesis Theatre Composed by Meike Holzmann & Egle Mei

7pm | £10 (£8 conc) unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk | 11

19 -T ue Q &A

W or ld

Pr em ie re

November

David Hoyle In The Company Of Friends Sat 9 | Cabaret English avant-guardian David Hoyle presents his unique brand of performance art with poetry and music from guest stars Gerry Potter & Julie Holestar.

Commissioned by Homotopia

W or ld

Pr em ie re

9pm | £12 (£10conc)

Caz n Britney present

Mis Les

A Revolution in Rollers

Black

Thu 14 – Fri 15 | Music Exploring internationally acclaimed singer Le Gateau Chocolat’s life, loves and fears in an intimate portrait of the Nigerian singer and his own personal battles.

Le Gateau Chocolat has sung at Sydney Opera House and the Royal Opera House.

Commissioned by Homotopia

7:45pm – Thu & Fri 2:30pm - Fri £10 (£8 conc) 12 | boxoffice: 0844 873 2888

Wed 13 – Sat 16 | Comedy Follow the inimitable Caz n Britney on a journey from the barricades to God knows where!

Featuring hits such as “It’s no crime to be comfy” Best Double Act of the Year 2011 (Liverpool Theatre’s Best of 2011) Keddy Sutton and Gillian Hardie perform this musical phenomenon following their sell out show Scottie Road The Musical!

Commissioned by Homotopia

8pm – Wed & Sat 9:15pm – Thu & Fri £14 (£12 conc)

Alice In Wonderland

Tue 19 – Wed 20 | Theatre Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible.

Step into an upside-down world where familiar things are made strange, with enchanting and horrifying results. An older-thanusual Alice journey’s through Lewis Carroll’s exquisitely deranged tale of childhood, misunderstanding and adventure.

Plunge down the rabbit-hole into a 21st-century asylum adventure.

A Volcano Theatre Company production

8pm | £12 (£10 conc)

January

Pr em ie re

December

W or ld

Q &A

-F ri 22

November

Beauty & The Beast

For One Night Only

Scottie Road The Musical

An adult fairytale like no other.

Join Bernie and Les - desperate to save the failing Sunshine Club - as they revisit past glories, introduce not- so-special guests and take you on a comic tour-de-force in a desperate bid to save their friendship and careers .

Possibly featuring poor puns, attempted magic, unfunny oneliners and ventriloquism, all with one hell of a finale, don’t miss this side-splitting Christmas cracker.

«««« The Public Reviews

Fri 22 – Sat 23 | Drama British disabled actor Mat Fraser and American art star and a former Miss Exotic World/Miss Coney Island Julie Atlas Muz star in this magical sexual journey into real and fabled romance between beastly and beautiful characters.

A multi layered story to re-kindle your lust for life, and make you think about who loves who, and why they do.

Thu 12 – Sat 21 | Comedy

Contains both beautiful and beastly nudity.

A RAW production Commissioned by unitytheatre

An Improbable production

Recommended 15+

8pm | £12 (£10 conc)

Fri 10 – Sat 18 | Comedy ‘left the audience wanting more’ Madeup.lv A musical misadventure telling the story of pyjama-wearing, pastiescoffing, inimitable ‘Caz n Britney’ and their life changing journey from Primark to prison.

Starring Gillian Hardie (Blood Brothers, Our Day Out) and Keddy Sutton (Stags and Hens, Good Cop).

8pm | £12 (£10 conc)

8pm | £10 (£8 conc) unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk | 13

Booking Tickets ..............................

Bar / Gallery ..............................

Online: www.unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk

Our gallery space is open 1pm – 6pm daily and exhibits the work of local artists.

By Phone: 0844 873 2888 or 0151 709 4988

In Person: Unity Theatre, 1 Hope Place, Liverpool, L1 9BG - 50p charge for credit/debit cards - ÂŁ1 for posting out tickets - 50p per ticket exchange fee

Our bar is open one hour before and after shows.

Community ..............................

Our community department runs outreach work at the theatre and throughout Merseyside.

Donate .............................. unitytheatre is a charity to keep ticket prices low, run community and youth projects and present amazing theatre, dance, comedy and music.

Any donation when buying tickets, by standing order or through sponsorship helps.

Youth Theatre ..............................

Reservations Held up to 3 days - group bookings may be longer

From discussion sessions to professional workshops, teachers resources to family activities

Concessions Over 60s | Under 16s | Full-time students | Registered Disabled | Job Seekers

Find out more on our website

Our thriving Youth Theatre nurtures and encourages the creative talents of young people to develop communication skills, make new friends and create innovative performances.

Returns & Exchanges We do not refund tickets unless a show is cancelled. We may be able to resell tickets for sold out shows or exchange tickets to alternative performances if returned to the box office 48 hours prior to the show

Making Art ..............................

We help to develop new companies using our Making Art scheme that supports productions in their early stages.

Hiring Us ..............................

Latecomers Will not be admitted until a suitable point in the performance.

Find out more on our website.

Many of our spaces are available for hire. From rehearsals and meetings to conferences.

Visit our website or contact chrishennessey@unitytheatre. co.uk for more information.

Our Patrons ..............................

Thanks ..............................

Our patrons are (clockwise) Bill Kenwright CBE, John Bishop, David Morrissey, Josette Bushell Mingo OBE and Andrew Lancel.

Errors and omissions excepted

Finding us We are located just off Hope Street, between the two cathedrals, close to Hope Street Hotel and the Philharmonic Hall.

Parking Pay-and-display parking is available on Falkner Street, Myrtle Street, Cambridge Street and Mount Pleasant.

14 | boxoffice: unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk

Many thanks to Arts Council England, Liverpool City Council, The Makin Charitable Trust, Heritage Lottery Fund, The Frood Family, The Granada Foundation, Hope Street Hotel and all unityangels and everyone who has donated when booking tickets.

A Wondrous Place – Directed by Chris Meads – May 2013

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Season Picks ..........................................................

The Master and Margarita

The Pied Piper

Chelsea Hotel

An epic new adaptation of Bulgakov’s cult book.

The perfect Christmas show for ages 5+

Take a journey to the iconic New York hotel!

See page 8 for more!

See page 4 for more!

See page 11 for more!

Buying Tickets

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Online Book securely online unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk

By Phone 0844 873 2888 or 0151 709 4988 / In Person Mon: 1pm – 6pm

Tue – Sat 12pm – 6pm (non performance days) 12pm – 6pm or show time + 15 mins Telephone lines can be very busy from 7pm

A private company limited by guarantee number 3333987 | Registered charity number 1062 463

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