Everyman breaks ground and launches appeal
Liverpool's Everyman Theatre last week reached a landmark stage in its redevelopment as the official "groundbreaking" marked the beginning of the work on the new building on Hope Street following the demolition of the previous Everyman building.
At the same time, the theatre launched its "Everyone for the Everyman" appeal to raise the remainder of the money needed for the building work.
Everyman and Playhouse executive director Deborah Aydon said, "We have raised 98% of the funds needed to complete the building, and are now asking those who love the Everyman – and we know there are a great many who do, very passionately – to play their part in making the new theatre the best it can be... funds raised through the Everyone for the Everyman appeal will also support the writers, actors, directors and designers of the future, so that the new theatre will be an exciting creative hub for many decades to come."
A video of a tour of the site led by architect Steve Tompkins will shortly be available on the Everyman and Playhouse web site, where details of the appeal can also be found.
Manchester playwright wins Kings Cross playwriting award
Manchester playwright Rob Johnston has won the Kings Cross Award for New Writing run by The Courtyard Theatre in London with his play Einstein's Daughter out of more than 400 entered scripts.
For the seventh Kings Cross Award, Johnston's play was picked from a shortlist of six by a prestigious panel of writers and directors including Debbie Isitt, Robin Soans, Professor Kenneth Pickering, Jonathan Holloway, Howard Ross and the Courtyard's artistic director June Abbott.
Along with the £4,000 prize, Einstein's Daughter will received a staged reading at the theatre on 19 April.
North West productions
American actor Zach Braff makes his UK stage debut in Manchester in his own play All New People at the Opera House from 8 to 11 February prior to a West End run.
Louis Emerick stars in John Evans's Scouse comedy The Ciggie Run at St Helens Theatre Royal from 8 to 12 February.
Star of TV casting show How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria Helena Blackman on her first solo tour will perform at Chetham's School of Music on 10 February with a selection of songs from animated movies entitled Journey To The Past.
The Royal Exchange Theatre Studio will feature the world première of Chloe Moss's The Gatekeeper about a family get-together in the Lake District that soon starts to fall apart, running from 8 to 25 February.
Platform 4 will perform Macbeth at Unity Theatre in Liverpool on 7 and 8 February.
All-male Shakespeare company Propeller will be at The Lowry in Salford from 7 to 11 February with The Winter's Tale and Henry V.
The Sleepwalk Collective will perform Sirens, a one-woman tragi-comedy that blends poetic text with soundscapes and surreal imagery, at the Nuffield Theatre in Lancaster on 9 February.
Probe will perform May written by Tim Crouch and directed by Pete Shenton, a montage of dance, words and music, at Rose Theatre in Ormskirk on 8 February.
Legally Blonde The Musical will visit Liverpool Empire from 7 to 11 February.
Paul Hodson's Way Out West will be performed by The Future Is Unwritten at Brewery Arts Centre in Kendal on 9 February.
For young theatregoers, Sesame Street Live - Elmo Makes Music will be at Stockport Plaza on 12 February.