Unity Theatre Archives - Page 5 of 5

Over The Garden Wall – Unity Theatre Online

23Sep

By Jo TillotsonNo Comments

REVIEWS

Over The Garden Wall – Unity Theatre Online

The last 18 months of social isolation have caused many of us to consider what it means to live in a community and why it is important to have support where you live. The creative team behind Over The Garden Wall, a digital production being shown by the Unity Theatre in Liverpool, have asked those same questions, and this animated short is the result. Now, please do not be put off by the phrase “animated short”. Yes, this production is only 20 minutes long, and yes, it does include stop-motion and digital animation, as well as puppetry. But it is so much more than that. It is a heartfelt insight into Liverpool communities and what makes them special, how they grew, and why they are so important. You hear voices from those communities, supported by well-thought out and endearing animati...

21Sep

By Clare ChandlerNo Comments

North West

A Greasy Spoon – Unity Theatre

Part of Unity’s Open Call The joy of a double bill is the opportunity to see two very different works and A Greasy Spoon definitely delivered a change in tone from The Weight of Repopulating a Nation earlier. This rehearsed reading marked the first public outing for Alice Bunker-Whitney’s dark comedy. Given that this is a work in the early stages of its development, and still very much a work-in-progress it would be unfair to give it a star rating. Bunker-Whitney’s show opens with promise; Mandy and Shannon appear covered in blood and Mandy matter-of-factly observes that “this is gonna stain isn’t it?”. The show delivers laughs, but the absurd heightened reality promised by the blurb is never fully achieved, and there is a heavy reliance on dated comic conve...

20Sep

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Stayin’ Alive – Unity Theatre

Up Next is a new event series showcasing exciting new work from Merseyside performers and following the success of her previous show Heaven or Pussy, Victoria Oxley stepped up with her new musical-themed comedy Stayin’ Alive. Written by and starring Oxley, and with directorial input from Gemma Bodinetz who introduced the piece tonight, it follows the story of Maggie (Oxley) as she confronts her mental health problems and the loss of her grandmother, with support from Emma Bispham reading in other roles including Maggie’s mother, her sister Ann-Marie, and therapist Rob. Drawing on Oxley’s real-life relationship with her grandmother and her own work as a mentor for young people with mental health difficulties, this was a powerful piece of work that in its opening lines managed to blow...

The Weight of Repopulating a Nation – Unity Theatre

20Sep

By Clare ChandlerNo Comments

North West

The Weight of Repopulating a Nation – Unity Theatre

Leianna Boodaghians’ emotionally resonant exploration of her heritage, and the legacy of a forgotten genocide, began this Up Next double bill of new writing from across the city. This autobiographical performance follows Boodaghians’ own journey, as she explores her Armenian identity and uncovers a wealth of atrocities that resulted in Armenians being one of the world’s most dispersed peoples. The subject matter is incredibly hard-hitting, leading Boodaghians to question how you can relate to something so unimaginable as she shares verbatim accounts of the horrors of April 1915, when the Ottoman Empire attempted to eradicate Armenians. Boodaghians covers so much in the show, interweaving stories of her family with historical accounts and interviews. Some of thes...

31Jul

By Tracy RyanNo Comments

North West

Sleepover – Unity Theatre

This is my first sleepover. I am 54 and sitting on a bed in Kelly house, reading Just Seventeen and drinking Malibu, while four teenage female friends laugh, gossip, talk crushes & nipple hair, improvise dance routines & do a bit of karaoke – as well as snog some of their posters. This is All Things Considered’s delightful, nostalgia-fest, a 90-minute interactive celebration of friendship, sisterhood & all things teenage girl in the 1990s – a heady time where New Kids on the Block, White Musk perfume & Regal ciggies reigned. The audience (13 women & one privileged young bloke) are escorted to beds encircling the action on arrival by the cast; we’re immediately engaged in conversation & faced with a torrent of excitable questions - and from there things become ev...

25Jul

By Harriet AndrewsNo Comments

North West

We’re Queer For It – Unity Theatre

Young Homotopia are here to ask the questions that the LGBTQ+ community have been asking themselves for the longest time. The show began with the question of ‘should I go to pride?’ which has been a question many of us have asked ourselves and I thought this was really thoughtfully developed. The idea of ‘am I too gay, am I not gay enough, am I the right kind of gay, would I fit in?’ Is still a very real train of thought for people of all ages wondering whether to go to pride. Many of the methods of addressing stereotypes and the irony of playing out straight stereotypes was a really interesting idea and really entertaining. The game show idea in particular landed very strongly, I just wish the people delivering it could have stood still. The topic of the piece is reall...

Unity Theatre, Liverpool announce more events in 2021 season

16Jul

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

NEWS

Unity Theatre, Liverpool announce more events in 2021 season

Returning to Liverpool in the autumn of this year are critically-acclaimed companies such as Dibby Theatre, Paines Plough and Lung.Festival season also returns with events and week-long programme from Homotopia, BlackFest and DaDa.From midday on Thursday 15th July, audiences will also be able to book for the 10 new productions programmed through the second round of Unity’s Open Call.Applications also open for new producer training programme Level Up – part of Unity’s Creative’pool programme that provides over 300 Liverpool-based artists a year with training, opportunity and support.Available to book from midday on Thursday 15th July. Festivals, festive programme and the return of some of the UK’s favourite touring companies feature in the latest collection of productions announced by U...

2Jul

By Rebecca CaseyNo Comments

North West

Swan Song – Unity Theatre

I have just returned home from Liverpool’s Unity Theatre, or for the purposes of this evening a high school back in 1997. Swan song is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement all I can say is that I truly hope that this is not Andrew Lancel’s swan song because he is outstanding in this role. I don’t quite know what I was expecting tonight but Lancel’s portrayal of the character was the polar opposite to any role you may have seen him in previously. Andrew has had a celebrated career including several leading roles in television. I personally can’t look at him without picturing his character from Coronation Street. I also saw him in the national tour of The Sound of Music last year in Blackpool. The guy seems to be able ...

The Storm Shepherd – a new interactive, audio experience for families from All Things Considered Theatre, in partnership with Alder Hey & Unity

29Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

The Storm Shepherd – a new interactive, audio experience for families from All Things Considered Theatre, in partnership with Alder Hey & Unity

• Tickets are on-sale for Unity’s first event of their 2021 Season – The Storm Shepherd by Liverpool-based All Things Considered Theatre. • The Storm Shepherd is an interactive, audio experience for families and is also the opening event in Unity’s Open Call Programme. • The Storm Shepherd is available to experience from home from Wednesday 21st – Sunday 25th April. Families who book will receive an online audio link and physical storytelling pack (pictured right) in the post. • At the same time, The Storm Shepherd will also premiere at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, allowing children who have been hospitalised the past year to momentarily escape their beds through this new, magical adventure. Tickets are now on-sale for the first event in Unity’s 2021 Season. The Storm Shephe...

Unity announce first Open Call Programme & new Commission for Local Artists

6Dec

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS

Unity announce first Open Call Programme & new Commission for Local Artists

The Unity Theatre, Liverpool announce their first ever Open Call Programme. Running from February – May 2021, Unity are looking for local creatives to submit work for programming as their reopening season, celebrating the resilience, talent, and quality of Liverpool’s creative community. The call-out is open to a wide range of people and practices including theatre companies, performers, community practitioners, musicians, devisers, comedians, puppeteers, digital artists and spoken word artists. If you have a performance or creative experience you would love to share with audiences or participants, Unity are keen to hear from you. Unity knows that as a consequence of Covid-19 some D/deaf, neurodivergent and disabled artists face unique and unprecedented additional challenges in main...