If you can’t trust your next door neighbour who can you trust?
Written by Brian Coyle and directed by Emma Bird
On tour around Liverpool on 5th, 8th, 9th, 13th and 14th April 2016
In a society where nothing is private and no one knows who to trust this unsettling drama brings the fear of being watched, judged and condemned up close. Jane is desperate, her partner has disappeared. She is visiting Caroline her neighbour and local busybody to see if she’s heard anything about his disappearance. Will Caroline help her or is she the person Jane should be most afraid of?
WELCOME TO PARADISE ROAD examines how in an ordinary street in this society it’s not just the State that imposes terror over its citizens, it’s also ordinary people given arbitrary power that can exert terror. As we give away more and more of our liberties and increasingly become a surveillance society, this play is a cautionary tale about how if we are to remain “free” we must stay vigilant to the calls for the removal of our rights and vigilant about our own human nature.
The Cast
Sarah Maher – Jane
Sarah has been treading the boards since she could walk, and her extensive training at AADA in New York has brought her here to Paradise Road. Recent stage work includes Lydia in All My Sons, Lydia in The Chair and Ursula in Much Ado about Nothing. Her screen credits include The Crimes That Shook Australia (2015) and independent short The Mancunian Candidate (2015).
Emily Heyworth – Caroline
This is Emily’s professional stage debut since graduating from ALRA North. During her training she acted in the ensemble of A View from the Bridge directed by David Thacker at Octagon Theatre Bolton. Before attending drama school Emily acted in local theatre for many years alongside working as a GP. Emily enjoys writing short stories and is currently completing her first radio play.
Alun Parry – Edward
Singer-songwriter Alun Parry is one of the city’s most respected radical folk musicians. R2 Magazine said he has “a tremendous breadth of lyrical ambition… an incurable champion of ordinary people”. He has acted in several theatrical productions including All Quiet on the Western Front (Burjesta) and A Thousand Murdered Girls (Unity Theatre). www.parrysongs.co.uk
The Director
Emma Bird
As an actor Emma Bird has performed at The National Theatre. She was a regular character in BBC TV’s Casualty. She has worked alongside Jimmy McGovern, Pete Postlethwaite, Frances de La Tour, David Morrissey and Minnie Driver. She has directed numerous plays for Brighton Fringe Festival to critical acclaim. She is the founder of Liverpool Comedy Improv running weekly improv workshops and courses.
The Writer
Brian Coyle
Brian Coyle has been writing drama for around six years. He’s based in SW England and London. Over the last few years He’s had numerous short plays and one-act plays professionally performed in London, Bristol, Bath and Wales. In 2014 he was one of the winners of the British Theatre Challenge for a one-act play THE PROPOSITION (he was also shortlisted in 2015 for this prize). In 2015 his full length play THE RECKONING was shortlisted for the 24:7 Theatre Festival in Manchester and had a rehearsed-reading to industry guests in London. Also in 2015 WELCOME TO PARADISE ROAD was shortlisted for the Bread and Roses Playwriting Competition.
Performances
Tues 5th April 2016, 9:00pm – Zanzibar, Seel Street, Liverpool L1 4AZ
Fri 8th April 2016, 8:00pm – Quaker Meeting House, 22 School Lane, Liverpool L1 3BT
Sat 9th April 2016, 3:30pm – Treasure House Theatre, World Museum, William Brown Street, Liverpool L3 8EN
Wed 13th April 2016, 12:00pm – Liverpool Small Cinema, 57 Victoria St, Liverpool L1 6DE
Also with “An Everyday Apocalypse,” at Scouse and Show (This is the Future) evening – 14 April 2016, 07:00 – Fruit and Fibres, 67 Norfolk Street, Liverpool L1 0BG
Book tickets from: Eventbrite
More information: wtpr.wordpress.com