“April is the cruellest month”? Only if you’re Thatcher.
Just a short newsletter this time – there’s so much going on! But I wanted to highlight some stuff I think you might enjoy in the coming weeks.
We’re nearly midway through rehearsals for The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher by Hilary Mantel, adapted for the stage by Alexandra Wood – it’s shaping up to be such a thrilling piece, and we can’t wait to share it with you.
Sign-ups for our Freelancers’ Mixer are open if you want to watch and discuss it with other artists – and there are some super interesting events around it as well, with our new Step Inside talks offering illuminating discussions about the world and themes of the play, and its process of creation.
Last year we invited local companies to pitch shows to make in the Playhouse Studio, and one of the pieces we chose, Four Letter Words by Hannah Greenstreet, is on next week! A cracking play, locally made, with a properly ambitious studio-scale production – I massively recommend it.
There’s also a few tickets left for the homecoming of Jade Franks’ breakout, multi-award-winning smash from Edinburgh last year, Eat the Rich (but maybe not me mates x) – grab them while you can!
And to round off all this brilliant work by women, a note about the Women in Theatre Lab advice and structured networking session (on Wednesday next week):
Places at this free event are sold out, but I’ve had several enquiries about a waiting list – so if you’ve reserved a ticket and no longer plan to come, please do contact box office to return it. We’d hate for places to go to waste when other female theatre-makers in Liverpool could make the most of them!
Details about all these are below – and I’ll have another newsletter with you before too long, packed full of opportunities and recommendations.
Take care,
Tommo
Four
Letter Words
Playhouse Studio
Thu 16 – Sat 18 April
A coming-of-age story set in the world of queer online kink, Four Letter Words by Hannah Greenstreet (Playwrights’ Programme 2025) explores the thrill and vulnerability of finding connection in a time of isolation.
Blending live projection with intimate storytelling, the production invites audiences into Gemma’s private world, exploring how we search for identity and belonging when the world feels out of reach.
By turns erotic and uncomfortable, this comes with an age guidance of 16+.
Women
in Theatre Lab: Advice and Structured Networking
Downstairs at the Everyman
7pm, Wed 15 April
NOTE: This event is currently sold out, but please do check back to reserve your space here returns become available. If you’ve reserved a space and can no longer come, please contact Box Office so they can release the ticket.
The Women in Theatre Lab and Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse are delighted to invite you to the very first Women in Theatre speed networking event, for female theatre makers in Liverpool and the North West.
Join us for an hour’s ‘In Conversation’ advice session with Jennifer Tuckett (Director, Women in Theatre Lab), Ginni Manning (playwright, Women in Theatre Lab / Everyman & Playhouse) and Nathan Powell (Creative Director, Everyman & Playhouse), followed by a one-hour speed networking event and a chance to meet and talk with other women working in theatre.
We encourage attendees to bring 3 questions or problems you’d like advice on, to discuss one-to-one with other artists during the speed networking session. The bar will be open after the event for continued informal conversations.
The five-year Women in Theatre research project (run in partnership with The Writers’ Guild of Great Britian, WOW, Equity, Sphinx and others) has found that advice sessions and networking helps improve the sustainability of women’s careers in the arts, tackling issues such as the majority of caring responsibilities falling on women and a lack of women in leadership roles.
So, continuing the energy of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, we hope you’ll join us for this special event!
Babes in arms are welcome, with a changing space available.
Eat
the Rich (but maybe not me mates x)
Everyman
Wed 15 – Sat 18 April
Inspired by Jade’s own time as a working-class student at Cambridge, the show follows a Scouse fresher juggling secret cleaning shifts with the culture shock of Oxbridge privilege – exposing the absurdities of class, money and belonging in Britain today with razor-sharp wit and a dozen unforgettable characters.
Listed in The New York Times among the “Buzziest Acts of the Fringe” and in The Telegraph’s Top Plays to See, Eat the Rich has cemented Jade Franks (Playwrights’ Programme 2025) as one of the UK’s most exciting new voices.
Step Inside is a series bringing together specialists, creatives and others to delve deeper into the politics, context and creative process behind The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher.
These events are FREE – no need to book, just turn up!
Liverpool’s Most Explosive
Decade
5.30-6.30pm, Wed 22 April
Stephen Kelly, a leading professor of modern Irish history and British/ Irish relations, takes us on a journey through the political drama and local tensions that shaped Liverpool in the 1980s, offering a fresh understanding of Liverpool’s spirit, resilience, and reputation for never backing down.
Hilary Mantel’s Darkly
Playful World
5.30-7pm, Thu 14 May
Led by Dr. Alex Coupe (University of Liverpool) and Dr. Lucy Arnold (University of Worcester), this conversation opens the door to Mantel’s writing for audiences. Alex and Lucy introduce Mantel’s short story and her wider body of work, illuminating her wit, her politics, and the unforgettable characters and worlds she created.
Plus Laura Copeland (YEP Trainee Assistant Director) and I will be there to shed light on the process of adapting and staging the short story, with space for open discussion at the end.
Freelancers' Mixer
6pm, Wed 6 May
Our regular mixers are attached to each in-house production at the Everyman. They’re a chance for local theatre-makers to meet and chat with each other, members of the Artistic Team and – if we can wrangle them – members of the show’s creative team.
There’s free drinks, and you can see the show that night for £10 using the code MIXER10. What’s not to like?!
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