New show 'Making It!' is heading to Liverpool's Royal Court this May

Liverpool’s thriving theatre scene is the best antidote to negative stereotyping, says writer and director Stephen Fletcher as he prepares to open a new show on the Main Stage at Liverpool’s Royal Court.

Making It! stars Cath Rice and Andrew Schofield and runs from 1-17th May. It’s a show that is very much for and about the city’s theatre community, its ups and its downs. It also showcases the ability of its writers, actors and directors to create homegrown, successful shows.

The show began as a homegrown one woman show in 2018 called Our Bev’s Christmas Cracker played to sell-out crowds. This time, writing duo Stephen Fletcher and Cath Rice have developed the show for the Royal Court main stage, with additional material from Andrew Schofield (who has recently appeared in This City is Ours on BBC One).

Making It! tells the story of Bev. After forty years as a singer, actress and cabaret diva, Bev has seen it all and had nothing. She is backstage at the Kirkby Boilermakers and Shipbuilders social club which is the kind of place where you only play twice, once on the way up and once on the way down. This is her return gig. As she prepares to get her slap on and step into a wobbly spotlight, she is waiting for a phone call. If all goes well then tonight will be her final ever gig and you are all invited to join her backstage.

It is not the only show Stephen Fletcher will direct at Liverpool’s Royal Court this year. This summer, he will direct Helen Serafinowicz’s stage debut as a playwright, The Legend of Rooney’s Ring.

He said:

“Liverpool’s theatre scene is thriving. Having just directed the sell-out Shirley Valentine for the Liverpool Everyman’s 60th year celebrations, it’s clear there is a large audience who want to see their lives and their stories told on stage. With Making It, we take our Royal Court audience behind the dressing room door and into the world of show business, telling a story that many will relate to as we all try to find meaning and worth in our lives. There is a wit and warmth to Bev and those she meets. That’s the world and the family life myself and Cath have come from, and it is my mission to show a lighter side of Liverpool as an antidote to the often negative stereotyping and pigeonholing in some other dramas.”