Theatre returns to Liverpool as Everyman & Playhouse broadcast live show

Emma Rice’s theatre company Wise Children bring digital tour of Romantics Anonymous to Liverpool

A live performance of Wise Children, Bristol Old Vic and Plush theatre Productions’ acclaimed Romantics Anonymous will be performed live and broadcast directly to Liverpool audiences on Tuesday 22 September.

In an act of industry solidarity, partner theatres across the world will sell tickets for director Emma Rice’s acclaimed musical on different nights of the week, with the Everyman & Playhouse joining eight other venues from the North of England for the Tuesday evening performance.

Each night will be tailored to audiences at those different theatres, with a sprinkle of local flavour added before the stream begins. The musical, which will be performed live in Bristol Old Vic, is part of a five-day digital ‘tour’ involving 34 different theatres from 22-26 September.

Based on the film Les Emotifes Anonymes, Romantic’s Anonymous is directed by former Kneehigh Theatre Company (Dead Dog in a Suitcase, The Tin Drum and Shakespeare’s Globe The Little Matchgirl) artistic director Emma Rice. Emma launched Wise Children in 2018 and productions with the company include an adaptation of Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers.

Emma Rice said: “I have devoted my life to the live experience and the collective imagination – things that have proved impossible over the last few months. Whilst nothing will be able to replace the thrill of a night out at the theatre, this live broadcast is going to be as close to that delicious experience as we can possibly make it! Live, fresh, fun and intimate, this will remind us of what it is to share stories, hear music and, if true love has its way, even kiss… imagine that!”

As part of the process to stage the production, actors will be tested for coronavirus before forming a social bubble in Bristol. This will then allow the cast to perform the show in an empty Bristol Old Vic auditorium without social distancing between actors.

Emma said: “We are taking the utmost care to protect all of our valued team and, for one week only, we can all experience a live performance again, get lost in a wonderful love story and remember what it was to be socially intimate!”

Funny, tender and painfully awkward, Romantics Anonymous is a delicious love story about breaking the mould and finding the courage to be happy.

The story follows Angélique – a gifted chocolate maker crippled by social anxiety, who faints when people look at her; and Jean-René – the boss of a failing chocolate factory with a reliance on self-help tapes and a proneness to embarrassing sweating. When Angélique takes a job in Jean-René’s struggling factory, a fragile love affair unfolds.

Tickets for Romantics Anonymous are on sale now. Visit the website here for more information.