Thursday, March 28

Tag: Lantern Writers

Boss New Plays (Saturday) – Royal Court Studio
North West

Boss New Plays (Saturday) – Royal Court Studio

Liverpool Lanterns’ annual showcase of up-and-coming writing and acting talent in Merseyside came to a close with five new pieces from some of Lanterns’ veteran writers. As these are short pieces and in varying stages of development, it’s unfair to ‘rate’ them but there is still plenty for us to get our teeth into as an audience. There’s no easing into tonight’s showcase with our first piece, Banter, written by Darren Anglesea. The moment the lights go down there is an explosion of swearing and scuffling, as we are introduced to Tony, an angry young man accused of assault, which he swears is just ‘banter’ that got out of hand. When he sees that his duty solicitor Martin is black, he makes it plain this is an issue and it’s up to Martin to help his client understand how much trouble ...
Boss New Plays (Friday) – Royal Court Studio
North West

Boss New Plays (Friday) – Royal Court Studio

The Lantern Writers hold an annual showcase of new writing from semi-professional and amateur writers, at various stages of development. It is held over three night and the second night of new writing definitely stood up to the showcases’ name ‘Boss New Plays’. The first of the four pieces was ‘It's Not The Coughing That Carries You Off’, written by Mark Murphy. This is a comedy play, that uses a doctor’s surgery to bring comedy into everyday life. We’ve all been in a waiting room and overheard half of a phone conversation that could easily been misconstrued; or had that person next to us that can’t sit quietly for their turn and Murphy takes us to these moments and allows us to see the comedy in them. It is cleverly written and takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions throughout the h...
Boss News Plays (Thursday) – Royal Court Studio
North West

Boss News Plays (Thursday) – Royal Court Studio

Boss New Play’s is a three night long annual showcase from some of the most fantastic and ambitious artists in Liverpool who are best known as the ‘Lantern Writers’. This group are an eclectic mix of semi-professional and amateur writers, and tonight’s show brings us three new pieces of work at varying stages of development. In the first slice of this showcase, we see ‘Jigsaw’ live on stage, which has been written by Mark Davoren. In this Kafkaesque drama, two couples meet over dinner for what seems to be a fairly normal ‘life catch-up’ event. One couple, made up of Harry (Conor Burns) and Emily (Jennifer Morrow), look like the perfect pair with well-paid jobs and two children, they really seem to have it all. In contrast, Leah (Faye Draper) and Pete (Christopher James) are struggling ...
Three Nights of Ground-breaking New Theatre
NEWS

Three Nights of Ground-breaking New Theatre

Following on from the success of their event at 81 Renshaw Street in July 2019, the Lantern Writers collective were all set to soar again last April until – well, we all know what happened next. But time flies, the world moves on, and so better late than never, they reconvene to deliver another three nights of ground-breaking new theatre at Liverpool’s Royal Court this November. The premise remains the same with twelve pieces of original writing delivered across three evenings with plays typically ranging in length from 15 minutes to half-an-hour, although this time round an hour-long piece opens the proceedings. Covering a wide variety of genres, audiences are guaranteed a diverse mix each night with comedy and drama intermingled to provide an entertaining showcase. One of the g...
Play Up from Lantern Writers – St Lukes Bombed Out Church
North West

Play Up from Lantern Writers – St Lukes Bombed Out Church

It was a subdued Light Night Festival in Liverpool this year due to several days of constant downpour and the slow and cumbersome emergence from lockdown restrictions. Lantern Writers (a Liverpool-based playwright collective) staged eight short plays early evening at a small outdoor area in front of a small but hardy audience accommodated under a tiny cover and out-numbered by near-by drinkers. Child's Play. Written and directed by Mark Davoren With Natasha Hale, Chris Hird and Jen Morrow This piece relates some of the writer’s own memories as a boy growing up with two older sisters who conspire to exclude him from their games. The girl's mantra is 'I don't like boys' and he is the fall guy for their tricks with only occasional mediation shouted from an off-stage father. Clear...