The region's newest late-summer theatre event is the first, three-day Wirral Theatre Festival at the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton, which gets underway tomorrow and features 18 shows over three days.
The festival brings together a wide array of acting and writing talents, both for adult dramas and children's shows - the latter thanks to festival's daily running time from 1pm-9pm.
The event is organised by the Wirral Theatre Company, formed in August 2023 by Robbie Southworth, who runs Past Productions Education LTD offering workshops in schools across the UK and Europe, and Craig Ash McKenna, whose Times of 13 company produces short films and theatre shows.Â
The event began with the producers appealing for local talent of all kinds - as well as volunteers - to join the festival "pool", as well as running a writing competition for short children's shows, some of which are running at the event. The approach gathered writers and performers of 18 shows.
"Its aim is to showcase, promote and celebrate the Wirral - which has its own diverse pool of experience and upcoming talent," said festival producer Robbie Southworth.
"We’ve tried our best to scour the local area for new stories and classic tales to bring the Wirral peninsula to life."
The first show, tomorrow at 1pm, is Big Bunny and the Powers of Fort Perch Rock, Jen Cartwright's 45-minute children's show about a young boy and his friends who, buoyed up by his grandfather's tall tales, sets off to fins New Brighton's secret beaches.
The three days end with organiser Craig Ash McKenna's mystery The Island, a 50-minute thriller about scientists, a disgraced columnist and an island retreat...
In-between the festival offers a selection of children's shows and a variety of short adult drama, from Hairy B, Molly Farguhar's semi-autobiographical comedy about a slightly hairier than she would like 20-something (6pm August 28), and I Am Purple (7pm), voted best new play at last year's Liverpool Theatre Festival, to Ted Grant's Spin the Imperfect (August 29, 5.30pm), about a terrible comedy show by a top playwright, who attempts to avoid bad reviews by bribing the reviewers...
On the last day the entertainment runs from family show Spooky Tales (August 30, 2.45pm) - about four friends who meet each week to tell each other scary stories; to historical drama Tangled Roots (August 30, 7.15pm), an LGBTQIA+ political intrigue set in the 16th Century, in the newly-built Bidston Hall (a Wirral landmark).
Info and tickets to all shows here
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