During 2022, Liverpool theatres will be opening their doors for visitors to enjoy a range of brand new and award-winning shows. Witness incredible and breathtaking performances of classic musicals as well as hilarious comedy dramas and modern adaptations of well-known plays. We’ve rounded up some of the best theatre shows arriving in Liverpool this year and there’s bound to be something that takes your fancy.
1. Les Miserables, Liverpool Empire
Returning by popular demand following a sell-out run, Cameron Mackintosh’s acclaimed production of Boublil and Schönberg’s musical Les Misérables is heading back to the Liverpool Empire theatre this year. With scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo, the magnificent score of Les Misérables includes the songs I Dreamed a Dream, On My Own, Bring Him Home, One Day More, Master Of The House and many more, which will make you either want to sing along or possibly cry.
January 5-22. More info and tickets.
2. Mam! I’m ‘Ere, The Royal Court
Starring some of the most popular theatre faces in Liverpool, the smash hit comedy Mam! I’m ‘Ere! is packed with hit after hit from the 1970s which will have you dancing in the aisles. Twenty-five years after being left on her dad’s doorstep, Sally has met the love of her life on his failing holiday campsite in Wales. But there is one person missing from her wedding plans, her mam, so Sally narrows the search down to three very different women from her dad’s past.
June 10- July 11. More info and tickets.
3. Rice, Unity Theatre
Rice explores migrants of different generations and the complex relationships they forge with their new home – and with each other. This play at the Unity Theatre in Liverpool is about ambition, family and the unlikely friendship between a hotshot executive and the office cleaner. Working for Golden Fields, Australia’s largest producer of rice, Nisha is determined to become the first female Indian CEO in the country- while Yvette, an older Chinese migrant, has her own entrepreneurial ambitions.
March 17-19. More info and tickets.
4. The Royal, The Royal Court
Fancy a light-hearted play? Royal Court favourites Lindzi Germain and Angela Simms have written the brilliant comedy The Royal, which is bound to have you in stitches. The brand-new Royal Liverpool University Hospital is set to open its doors and all the patients and staff have been moved across to it. As the first wrecking ball is set to swing into the old building Ward 8X are the last ones to clear out and they need to get out before the old Royal turns to rubble.
March 11- April 9. More info and tickets.
5. Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Liverpool Empire
Before there was the magic of Frozen, there was Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Originally released in 1971, the charming movie followed three children who are sent to live with an apprentice witch, who, with the help of a magical conman, embark on a mission (flying bed included) to find an enchanted bedknob that could help end the war. Sounds utterly bonkers, huh? Well, all the best stories are. And now, the wholesome adventure is coming to the stage, heading to Liverpool Empire this year.
February 22-26. More info and tickets.
6. Chicago, Liverpool Empire
Pop, six, squish, uh uh, cicero, lipschitz. The popular, award-winning musical Chicago is heading to Liverpool Empire this February for one week only and it’s set to bring plenty of razzle dazzle. Chicago is the story of “murder, greed, corruption, exploitation, adultery and treachery…all those things we hold near and dear to our hearts”. Hear your favourites from the musical’s sassy score live on stage such as Razzle Dazzle, Cell Block Tango, and All That Jazz.
February 7-12. More info and tickets.
7. Kerbs, Unity Theatre
This March will see the return of Graeae Theatre Company, the UK’s leading disabled led theatre company, to Unity Theatre with a new show. Kerbs is the debut play from Michael Southan exploring taboos around sex, romance and disability. Lucy and David are dating and desperate to find some time alone whilst on holiday. With everything stacked against them including broken toilets, patronising staff and Lucy’s constantly interfering mum, not to mention broken pink wafers, this holiday could be make or break.
March 9-12. More info and tickets.
8. As You Like It, Everyman Playhouse
In their 30th anniversary production, Northern Broadsides are bringing their bold, refreshing style to Shakespeare’s most musical and much-loved comedy for the very first time. When the high-spirited Rosalind and devoted cousin Celia escape the court into the forest in disguise, they bump into the recent object of Rosalind’s affection, Orlando. This leads to an elaborate game of fluid identity where all the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players.
May 24-28. More info and tickets.