We meet Council Depot Blues writer, Dave Kirby at the Royal Court

Dave Kirby is back with his council worker comedy – Council Depot Blues! Originally produced in 2008 the show broke the Box Office record for a new play at the Royal Court, then returned to popular acclaim in 2010.

It’s Stan’s last day on the job and look what he’s leaving behind. Clearing houses after the dearly departed have buggered off beyond the grave leaving nothing behind but busted sofas, faded photos and worthless heirlooms. It’s enough to give anyone the blues. 

What he will miss are the lads who he works with in the Liverpool City Council Excrement Eradication Department. A bunch of social misfits without two airs and graces to rub together, they might wind each other up but they are a team. Stick together through thick and thin. They’d never desert each other or rip each other off. Not even if one of them found something really valuable…

The majority of the original cast are back for the show many of whom have become Royal Court favourites. The full cast is: Jake Abraham, Roy Brandon, Paul Broughton, Lindzi Germain, Howard Gray, Phil Hearne, James Nelson-Joyce, and Andrew Schofield.

Dave Kirby has been one of the most successful Liverpool playwrights of recent years with Brick Up The Mersey Tunnels, Reds And Blues, Brick Up 2 and Lost Soul all being big hits at The Royal Court as well as Council Depot Blues. The show is based on many of the characters that he met in his younger days as a Corpy worker: “Back in 1976 my old fella put my name down on a waiting list for a job at Liverpool City Council’s Maintenance & Building Works Department. In the 16 years that followed I was to meet every type of character that my city could serve up – not only workmates but also hundreds of council tenants whose homes we worked or skived in. In character building terms it was the ultimate social experience. As a future writer it was priceless.”

Kevin Fearon, Executive Producer at Liverpool’s Royal Court, is looking forward to another success: “Council Depot Blues is a great show with lots of gags and some great music. We have come a long way since the show was first produced here but it is a show that the audience always ask about at Box Office. We are really looking forward to having it back here with us.”

Council Depot Blues runs from 23 February to 24 March 2018. Tickets and information are available from www.royalcourtliverpool.com or on 0151 709 4321