Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse Theatres announce new shows for 2025

Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse Theatres today announce new productions for 2025, the first season by new Creative Director Nathan Powell, confirming its position at the forefront of new writing, and reaffirming its commitment to creative collaboration, diversity and inclusion, and artist development.

The first production  Takeaway is written by Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse Theatres creative director Nathan Powell and will be directed by Amanda Huxtable. A story set in a Liverpool restaurant packed with big laughs, family tensions and pumping tunes, it will play at the Everyman from 26 April to 17 May 2025.

Nathan said:

“It’s a story about Liverpool as a whole, how it was built, where it is now, and about the communities that make up the city. I think it feels very ‘Everyman’ in that it asks big questions but there are also lots of laughs, silliness and humour. I’m hoping that stories like Takeaway that are rooted in this place, can also tell a national tale.”

At a time when many theatres are limiting their creative risks, Nathan is keen to give theatre makers the opportunity to test boundaries and push theatrical form. Inspired by real animal encounters from around the world  The Walrus Has A Right To Adventure by Wirral playwright  Billie Collins and is at the Everyman from 12 to 21 June 2025. It sweeps three stories from different corners of the globe into a powerful new play about instinct, expectation, identity, and what it means to be truly free.

Giving theatre makers a space to explore classic texts is essential for shedding fresh light on familiar stories, uncovering new insights for existing audiences and inviting new, younger audiences to engage. A new abridged version of the classic love story Romeo and Juliet opens at the Everyman from 13 September to 4 October 2025.  Directed by Ellie Hurt, a graduate of Young Everyman Playhouse [YEP] Directors Programme, it promises to be a powerful, potent production stripped back to its brilliant basics.

For the three new homegrown productions announced, the theatres are committed to keeping ticket prices low; with tickets priced from £11 and 64% available at £21 and under. The hope is to ensure theatre remains accessible and affordable, allowing more people to enjoy live performances, and reduce the risk for audiences seeing new plays.

On announcing plans for 2025, Nathan Powell said:

“I am so excited for my first season to be underway.  Liverpool has been home to me for many years and the city, and its broad artistic community are close to my heart.  As a team we at the Everyman and Playhouse will continue our dedication to producing local stories with a national reach and in doing so, championing emerging creative talent, introducing audiences to new forms of storytelling, and breathing a fresh perspective into classic stories.”

2025 at the Everyman begins with a revival of  Willy Russell’s Shirley Valentine, originally commissioned by the theatre and finishing its 60th  Birthday celebrations; from 1 to 29 March, the production (already on sale) will see Helen Carter in the title role and will be directed by Stephen Fletcher. No Everyman year is complete without the legendary Rock ‘n’ Roll panto, which for 2025 will be Jack and the Beanstalk (15 November to 17 January), written by Liverpool writer Chloe Moss.

Alongside continuing to develop creative projects with Associate Companies, which in 2025 will include a Studio Commission with  Talawa as part of their  Black Joy Season, the theatres will collaborate with some of the UK’s best touring companies. These include at the Liverpool Playhouse, co-producing with  Actors Touring Company on Tambo & Bones (26 to 29 March), Wise Children on North by Northwest (20 to 24 May) and with Royal & Derngate on  Breaking the Code (21 to 25 October); as well as welcoming back  Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures with  The Midnight Bell (16 to 20 September).

Productions already on sale for 2025 at Liverpool Playhouse include The Merchant of Venice 1936 with Tracy-Ann Oberman as Shylock (4 to 8 February); the return of Ghost Stories to the stage where it first premiered (11 to 15 March); George Orwell’s Animal Farm (1 to 5 April); and a stage adaptation of Paula Hawkins’ novel The Girl on a Train (13 to 17 May).

The theatres continue their on-going commitment to welcoming younger children and families with The Baddies (18 to 22 February), The Gruffalo (8 to 12 April) and  Pirates Love Underpants (28 to 31 May); as well as Children’s Touring Partnership with Malorie Blackman’s Pig Heart Boy (18 to 22 March).

Comedy nights include  Mark Thomas: Gaffa Tapes  (23 January),  Nina Conti: Whose Face Is It Anyway? (25 January),  John Shuttleworth: Raise the Oof (11 February),  Adam Kay: Undoctored (12 February),  Lou Sanders: No Kissing in the Bingo Hall (1 March),  Deirdre O’Kane: Kaning It (8 March),  Richard Herring: Can I Have My Ball Back? (17 April),  Ellie Taylor: Palavering! (10 May),  Jenny Éclair: Jokes Jokes Jokes Live! (7 June),  Suzi Ruffell: The Juggle (13 September) and Sam Avery: Thunderstorm (21 November).