Liverpool’s Royal Court is back with a bang with a brand new show from Gerry Linford (Yellow Breck Road, The Menlove Avenue Murder Mystery).
Ellen & Rigby is a great new comedy about two lonely people brought together in an unlikely way. Starring Royal Court favourites Lindzi Germain and Andrew Schofield and directed by Stephen Fletcher, the show begins when the odd couple meet at a vaccination centre.
Lucky in life, unlucky in love, Ellen has been looking for a man. Now, thanks to the organisational power of the NHS, Joe Rigby has been dropped in her lap!
A rock star who nearly made it in 1985, Joe has been living alone for so long that he didn’t realise that he was unhappy so it’s a good job Ellen arrived to let him know. He needs taking in hand (not like that, you dirty ticket) and Ellen is quite the catch. She was Miss Old Swan in 1991 and that kind of beauty doesn’t fade away no matter how many years are heaped on top of it.
After 12 months alone, these two lonely people are trapped together for 12 weeks between Joe’s vaccinations. It’s either going to be an exciting experiment in love or a colossal pain in the arse depending on who you ask. Will true love win out or will they just throttle each other?
While the current Covid restrictions are in place (provisionally until 19th July) the audience will be socially distanced. The theatre has an air circulation system, one way systems, temperature checks on arrival and will ask all audience members to wear face-coverings when moving around inside the building. If the show is postponed or audiences cannot attend for reasons related to the pandemic then full refunds will be available under the Royal Court’s Covid Refund Guarantee.
Tickets for each show will start at £14 and meals are available before the show for an extra £12.
Executive Producer Kevin Fearon is excited to be opening the doors again: “It feels like it has been a very long time since we had an audience in the building. We managed to open for three weeks over Christmas but otherwise it has been nearly 15 months since our last show. During that time the audience has been amazingly supportive of every change that we have had to make and I’d like to thank them for that. Arts Council England have helped us to access funding from the Culture Recovery Fund which has helped us enormously and the staff, cast and crew here have been incredible in very trying circumstances. We can’t wait to get back to doing what we do best in front of packed houses here at The Court and we hope that lots of people will come and join us!”
Ellen & Rigby plays at the Royal Court in Liverpool from the 2nd – 31st July, for further information visit https://liverpoolsroyalcourt.com/whats-on/ellen-and-rigby/