Rob Fennah’s adaptation of Helen Forrester’s book By the Waters of Liverpool is to continue its UK tour after taking an 18-month break due to the coronavirus pandemic and will visit 17 venues in autumn 2021.
The period drama opened in March 2020 at the Floral Pavilion, New Brighton—only a few miles from the author’s birthplace in Hoylake. But the play was postponed after being staged at three venues.
Writer and co-producer Fennah said, “when we launched By The Waters Of Liverpool last year, the response was so overwhelming we were determined not to let the pandemic get the better of us. It’s not only returning to the stage in September, it’s going to be bigger, bolder and more glorious than ever.”
Co-producer Bill Elms added, “with the vaccine roll-out going so well, we can now see the light at the end of a dark tunnel for the theatre industry and we hope people will feel safe enough to come back in their droves, embracing theatre and live performance more than ever before.”
The cast for the first part of the tour featured Sian Reeves, Mark Moraghan, Parry Glasspool, Lucy Dixon, Eric Potts, Lynn Francis, Danny O’Brien, Roy Carruthers and Chloe McDonald. The cast for the 2021 tour has yet to be confirmed.
By The Waters Of Liverpool is produced by the team that brought Fennah’s adaptation of Forrester’s Twopence To Cross The Mersey to the stage in 2016. It is produced by Pulse Records in association with Bill Elms and is directed by Gareth Tudor Price.
The tour will reopen in Lytham from Thursday until Saturday, 9 to 11 September before visiting towns and cities across the UK including Lancaster, Darlington, St Helens, Warrington, Bolton, Stockport, Crewe, Halifax, Coventry, Winchester, Rhyl, Hayes, Chesterfield, Malvern, Southport and Wirral. It will stop off at the Albany Theatre, Coventry on Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 October.