Excitement Builds as Liverpool Theatre Festival arrives in two weeks

The exciting programme will feature comedy, drama, music, opera, musical theatre, drag, and the biggest family line-up to date

The countdown is on to this year’s 11-day Liverpool Theatre Festival which opens in two weeks with a brand new Summer date. 

The full programme features 18 shows spanning 24 performances throughout the festival, with genres including comedy, drama, music, opera, musical theatre, drag – and the strongest family line-up to date since the festival was launched in 2020. 

The fourth annual Liverpool Theatre Festival takes place between Thursday 20 July and Sunday 30 July 2023. Once again, it will take place outdoors at St Luke’s Bombed Out Church in Liverpool city centre. 

This year’s Liverpool Theatre Festival is being dedicated to Liverpool playwright Mark Davies Markham, who sadly passed away earlier this year. Mark premiered his one-woman play 2Gorgeous4U at last year’s LTF. This year the show is being staged once more in memory of Mark. Funds from the performance will be donated to charity. 

Three shows have been specially commissioned and will premiere at Liverpool Theatre Festival. Sober Companion starring Joe McGann and Jake Norton; and children’s shows The Oogy Boogy Man and Fred The Musical. 

Nine family shows will be staged during the festival, which coincides with the school Summer holidays for the very first time. 

Alongside brand new commissions The Oogy Boogy Man and Fred The Musical, the children’s shows are The Magic Bookmark With Mama G, Magic Gareth: Level Up!, Rubbish Romeo And Juliet, The Monkey With No Bum, Shout! The Mod Musical, Dame Fanny & Her Fabulous Friends, and The Tempest. 

Liverpool City Region Pride Festival takes place between 28 July and 30 July, and LTF shows have been specifically programmed on these dates to complement the weekend celebration. 

The programme also features comedy, drama, music, opera, musical theatre, and drag. 

The full line-up also features Viva Tenori – A Celebration Of The Three Tenors; Whatever Happened To Billy Kenny; Perfectly Frank; A Night With Daniel Taylor – His Music And His Friends; Locomotive For Murder: The Improvised Whodunnit; Pauline Daniels – Get Me Before The Crematorium Does; and Laughterhouse Comedy – Pride Special featuring Morgan Rees and Bethany Black. 

This year’s festival partners are Liverpool BID Company, Edge Hill University, Morecrofts Solicitors, Bill Elms Associates, Ticket Quarter, and The Harrogate Group. 

This project is part-funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority as the lead authority. Along with Liverpool City Council and Culture Liverpool. 

Liverpool Theatre Festival was created by Liverpool theatre producer Bill Elms, who has worked in the theatre industry for more than 30 years. Theatres and live entertainment venues were ordered to close immediately under the Government’s first national Covid-19 lockdown guidelines in March 2020.

It was Bill’s mission and vision to reinvigorate and boost the city’s live performance and creative arts sector, offering a lifeline when it was needed most. Liverpool Theatre Festival was created in a matter of weeks. 

Since its inaugural staging in Autumn 2020, it has gone on to win praise from audiences and critics alike, as well as winning many awards along the way. Liverpool Theatre Festival is committed to supporting local artists, creatives, and theatre companies. 

Liverpool Theatre Festival Producer and Artistic Director Bill Elms commented: 

“This year’s festival is fast approaching with just two weeks until we open at St Luke’s Bombed Out Church in Liverpool city centre. This is the fourth staging of the festival and it’s something we are incredibly proud of – the festival was created in a matter of weeks in the midst of the pandemic to give a glimmer of hope, inspiration, and escapism to creatives and audiences alike. And we’re still continuing to do just that. And this year we will also remember our dear friend and writer Mark Davies Markham, who was highly respected in Liverpool and beyond. 

“This year we’ve moved the festival to coincide with the school holidays and have a great line-up of family shows, making theatre accessible and affordable for everyone. So please join us for 11 days of live entertainment in a fantastic setting – we want this to be a real Summer highlight in Liverpool.” 

Fringe event Little LTF – Liverpool Theatre Festival Of New Works will take place in the Autumn, running between Tuesday 3 October and Sunday 8 October 2023.

Performances will be staged within the more intimate marquee at St Luke’s Bombed Out Church. Further details about submitting work will be announced soon. 

For more info on Liverpool Theatre Festival click here.