The Reader announces inclusive shared reading taster sessions at Liverpool Everyman

The Reader is excited to be launching new LGBTQIA+ inclusive Shared Reading taster sessions at Liverpool Everyman.

Two drop-in sessions will accompany a debut play set in the Aids epidemic, Tell Me How It Ends, by Tasha Dowd, a graduate of the award-winning Young Everyman Playhouse (YEP) programme. These pre-show sessions on 19 and 20 June are open to everyone and FREE to attend.

At Shared Reading groups people talk, connect and share experiences using stories, plays and poetry. There is no pressure to talk or read aloud – it’s fine to just sit back, relax and listen.

The sessions will be run by The Reader’s weekly Pride on the Page Shared Reading group leaders Jessica Harrison and Stephen Porter, a spoken word artist (runner-up of Liverpool Fringe Best Poet award, 2023).

Jessica said:

“We’re thrilled to be working with Liverpool’s Everyman Theatre on this new launch. We’ll be hosting two extra special pre-show Shared Reading workshops for theatre-lovers and members of the LGBTQIA+ inclusive community in the Street Cafe on 19 June at 2pm and Writer’s Room on 20 June at 6pm.

“Pride on the Page started during lockdown as an online group, as part of a wider ongoing project around Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at The Reader. We read and talk about stories and poems written by a diverse range of writers from the LGBTQIA+ community, including authors such as Carson McCullers, Jackie Kay and Alan Hollinghurst, and poets like Audre Lord, Mark Doty and CP Cavafy.

“We wanted to create a welcoming, supportive and inclusive environment where individuals feel safe and secure to express their true selves without fear of judgement, or prejudice.”

Tell Me How It Ends, which premieres from 12 to 22 June is about two queer lives intertwining during a time of growing uncertainty. It tells the story of Aster (Emmy Stonelake), who like many Lesbian women did during the Aids epidemic of the 1980s, reaches out to help and finds herself at Marc (Luke Sookdeo)’s bedside.

This award-winning play is described by the writer as a “joyous and uplifting tale of a beautifully messy friendship that everyone can relate to”.

Directed by Gitika Buttoo, who recently finished her tenure as staff director at London’s National Theatre and has been appointed as a regional associate of Tamasha, the play’s cast and design team features many Liverpool creatives.

The Reader’s weekly Pride on the Page Shared Reading group celebrates stories and poems from the LGBTQIA+ experience every Wednesday at The Reader’s home in Calderstones Park, 2pm – 3.30pm.