Everyman and Playhouse

Autumn & Winter Programme 2004

By Colin Serjent

The 40th birthday of the Everyman is celebrated during the forthcoming Autumn-Winter season of theatre productions being staged there and at the Liverpool Playhouse.

To recognise this landmark- its birthday falls on 28 September - their entire programme will consist of in-house work, with contemporary Liverpool writing at the forefront, with two world premieres of new Liverpool plays, 'The Kindness of Strangers' by Tony Green (24 September - 16 October) and 'Urban Legend' by Laurence Wilson (29 October - 20 November), taking place there.

The rest of the Everyman's programme includes several special events to acknowledge the theatre's birthday. These begin with 'Liverpool Heartbeats' (11 September), a collection of specially commissioned ten-minute pieces from a range of Liverpool writers, each focusing on a moment from the city's history.

The musical compilation 'And The Beat Goes On' (15-18 September) is then staged, followed by 'The Ones That Got Away' (2 & 9 October and 6 & 13 November), which is a series of public readings of recent plays by Liverpool writers.

The incomparable Ken Campbell returns to the Everyman with 'Farting Around In Disguises' (19-23 October), five nights of improvisational theatre.

The Playhouse offers its own tribute to the Everyman's birthday with a new production of sixties comedy 'The Anniversary' (10 September - 2 October), featuring Sheila Hancock., followed by 'The Bacchae' (19- 23 October) and 'Pinafore Swing' (2 - 6 November).

In a busy season for the Playhouse, 'A Passage To India' (16-20 November), 'Home' (23-27 November) and 'The Odd Couple' (10 December - 15 January 2005), then complete their programme.