Blue (Multiplay Drama)

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D sits in meetings. On the outside she feigns interest in the office politics. On the inside, questions gnaw away at her as she tries to work out what to do with her life and the new one she’s carrying. There will be collaborations on productions with Homotopia and Cardboard Citizens and a co-production with Talawa Theatre Company to be announced in February, and further work with Graeae on its artist development programme, Beyond. Graeae’s Crips with Chips: A Fork in the Road, a showcase of short plays by Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent writers written in response to a predetermined theme, will visit Liverpool (24 February). Perhaps but generally I don’t start writing a play with an intent to be educative or to change people’s minds. I try and follow what I find interesting, or upsetting, or moving and hope that it might do the same for an audience. However, the research I did for the play definitely gave me a greater understanding of how difficult, and how much sacrifice there is, in working in a mental-health setting. There’s a growing awareness of the stigma around mental health conditions but I also think that attitudes toward professionals who care for people with mental-health conditions are not as appreciative or as positive as they could be. It’s a job that involves caring for people under very difficult, emotive and complex circumstances. I think that can go unnoticed and so if Bluedidgive an audience a greater awareness of this then that would be great. However, it wasn’t my primary aim, my main aim was to try and immerse the audience in the world of mental-health care rather than give them my opinion on that world. Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse today announce a 2024 season which boasts world premieres, classic plays and projects with their Associate Companies, with the development of new talent at the fore. It’s a year that sees the Everyman celebrate sixty years since it’s foundation and ten years since the Stirling Prize winning new building opened.

I’m excited to direct this incredible play that is full of McDonagh’s trademark dark, violent and hilarious dialogue. But also explodes the ever-relevant theme of revenge. I can’t wait to see how the audiences of Liverpool react to it at the iconic theatre space of the Everyman.” At the heart of the Everyman season are three homegrown productions, two of which come from writers supported through the theatres’ playwright programmes. The Playhouse season also includes Unfortunate, a musical telling the untold story of Ursula the Sea Witch (5 to 9 March); Pilot Theatre return with a contemporary version of Orpheus in The Song for Ella Grey (13 to 16 March); Curve Theatre’s My Beautiful Laundrette (26 to 30 March), directed by Nicole Behan from Liverpool’s Paperwork Theatre; imitating the dog create a new Frankenstein (17 to 20 April); Tim Rice: I Know Him So Well, My Life in Musicals (2 May); Showstopper: The Improvised Musical (9 to 11 May); and Drop the Dead Donkey the Reawakening (14 to 18 May);A new play that explores capitalism, The Legend of Ned Ludd takes audiences on a whirlwind global commute from the Luddites’ nineteenth century war against new technology through to London, Liverpool, Lagos and beyond.

Do you think the play will challenge what people think they know about mental-health care and mental illness? Comedy nights include Babatunde Aleshe: Babahood(24 February), Jon Courtenay: Bigger(5 April), Griff Rhys Jones: The Cat’s Pyjamas (30 April), Tom Davis: Underdog(4 May), Rosie Holt: That’s Politainment (25 May) and Danny Davies (11 September). Plus there’s poetry from Hollie McNish: The Lobster Tour (27 June). The Playhouse season also includes Unfortunate, a musical telling the untold story of Ursula the Sea Witch (5 to 9 March); Pilot Theatre return with a contemporary version of Orpheus in The Song for Ella Grey (13 to 16 March); Curve Theatre’s My Beautiful Laundrette (26 to 30 March), directed by Nicole Behan from Liverpool’s Paperwork Theatre;; imitating the dog create a new Frankenstein (17 to 20 April); Tim Rice: I Know Him So Well, My Life in Musicals (2 May); Showstopper: The Improvised Musical (9 to 11 May); and Drop the Dead Donkey the Reawakening (14 to 18 May); The cast for Edition 6 include Marion Bailey, Cian Binchy, Amanda Coogan, Tim Crouch, Louisa Harland, Lara Grace Ilori, Rose Lewenstein, Maimuna Memon, Rachael Merry, Nando Messias, Sule Rimi, Grace Savage, Dorcas Sebuyange, Michelle Tiwo, Alan Williams, Millicent Wong and Basil the Dog. You have only to attend one of the hundreds of lecture-recitals on early woodwind instruments which Munrow gives up and down the country, and abroad, every year to realise how much his playing has caused such instruments to be taken seriously – to be thought of not merely as musical fossils, but as a range of sonorities that hold unlimited delights for the listener, and which today’s composers can find an invaluable stimulus. If you can’t get to one of his lecture recitals, then his exciting new demonstration disc, The Medieval Sound on the Oryx label, will serve the purpose: though seeing him play these colourful instruments inevitably adds further dimension. Medieval music has never for him been a dead art exhumed by scholars. It is alive and well and flourishing world over.

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Set in Liverpool as the AIDS epidemic threatens a generation, Tell Me How It Ends is about two queer lives intertwining as they each learn to love living – finding the joy in being bound together during a time of growing uncertainty. Someone Stares at a Dog for a Few Minutes, and Has a Think About It All by Simon Longman (The Long Listen) In 1964, the Everyman Theatre became a beacon of artistic innovation, offering a stage for local playwrights, actors, and directors to experiment and create. That spirit of experimentation and creativity has been a driving force ever since, shaping the identity of Liverpool’s theatre scene and inspiring generations of artists. At the heart of the 2024 Everyman season are three homegrown productions, two of which come from writers supported through the theatres’ playwright programmes. It will be directed by Chris Sonnex, Artistic Director of Cardboard Citizens (an Associate Company at the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse):

Comedy nights include Babatunde Aleshe: Babahood (24 February), Jon Courtenay: Bigger (5 April), Griff Rhys Jones: The Cat’s Pyjamas (30 April), Tom Davis: Underdog (4 May), R osie Holt: That’s Politainment (25 May) and Danny Davies (11 September). Plus there’s poetry from Hollie McNish: The Lobster Tour (27 June). Facilitators for Edition 6 include Jane Fallowfield, Grace Gummer, Lucy Morrison, Hamish Pirie, Sam Pritchard, Izzy Rabey and Anthony Simpson-Pike. Set in Liverpool as the AIDS epidemic threatens a generation, Tell Me How It Ends is about two queer lives intertwining as they each learn to love living – finding the joy in being bound together during a time of growing uncertainty. Written by Tasha Dowd, a graduate of the Young Everyman Playhouse Writers programme, the play is the winner of the 2023 Homotopia Writers’ Award. Tasha Dowd said: Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse's 2024 season comprises world premières, classic plays and projects with their associate companies, celebrating 60 years since the Everyman was founded and 10 years since its current building opened. Chris Bearne gives a moving performance as widower Terry, who has worked alone in the laundry for nearly three decades and now needs help and company. Bearne gives Terry an innate kindness and good nature which makes his 'tell it as it is' rough honesty endearing.For younger children there’s The Tiger Who Came to Tea (12 to 17 February), Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book (9 to 13 April) and Tom Fletcher’s There’s A Monster in Your Show (28 May to 1 June). The Playhouse season also includes Unfortunate, a musical telling the untold story of Ursula the Sea Witch (5 to 9 March); Pilot Theatre's contemporary version of Orpheus in The Song for Ella Grey (13 to 16 March); Curve Theatre’s My Beautiful Laundrette (26 to 30 March); imitating the dog's Frankenstein (17 to 20 April); Tim Rice: I Know Him So Well, My Life in Musicals (2 May); Showstopper: The Improvised Musical (9 to 11 May); and Drop the Dead Donkey the Reawakening (14 to 18 May).

Munrow challenges the assumption that dementia is worse for those close to the patient than the sufferer themselves. "If someone broke their leg, they would be in pain," Simon reasons. "If someone's mind breaks, wouldn't you think they're in pain as well?" The short, staccato scenes seem to echo the distortions and disorientation of the disease: conversations are generally held at cross-purposes, or directly contradict each other, reminding us that collective truth is rarely more than an aggregate of fallible reminiscences.

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However, it’s important to stress that Blueis a play and not a documentary, it doesn’t need to be as there are loads of brilliant documentaries about the state of mental health services in the UK. In BlueI was trying to get closer to the feeling, the emotive content of what modern mental-health care can feel like, rather than a factual recounting of a specific mental-health unit. Written by Tasha Dowd, a graduate of the Young Everyman Playhouse Writers programme, the play is the winner of the 2023 Homotopia Writers’ Award: