By the Waters of Liverpool reveals waterfront dates

Helen Forrester’s By The Waters of Liverpool will open at the Auditorium at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena this September.

The production was to have kicked off its 12-week, 17-venue autumn tour at the city’s Epstein Theatre. But with news that the Hanover Street landmark is set to close its doors at the end of this month, a new home has had to be found.

The show, written by Rob Fennah and directed by Gareth Tudor Price and set up to and around the outbreak of the Second World War, will now enjoy four performances in the waterfront space before visiting venues including St Helens and Southport and will finish with dates at the Floral Pavilion at New Brighton.

Emma Mulligan, a recent graduate of East 15 Acting School, will play Helen, while Coronation Street’s Tom Roberts will play her father. Emmerdale’s Joe Gill meanwhile takes the role of Helen’s love interest Harry O’Dwyer.

The cast also includes Lynn Francis, Daniel Taylor, Lynne Fitzgerald, Roy Carruthers, Joe Owens and Samantha Walton.

Co-producer Bill Elms says: “The announcement of The Epstein Theatre closure in Liverpool has been a huge blow across the city and the wider creative arts industry.

“We’ve been working hard to find a venue to ensure the tour can still start in Liverpool, a vital backdrop to Helen’s story. So we’re extremely thankful and grateful to the M&S Bank Arena for stepping in to save the day, which sees us transfer the show to The Auditorium – sitting on the banks of the River Mersey.

“It’s a very fitting move now that By The Waters Of Liverpool is actually opening by the waters of Liverpool! It’s great knowing we’ll all be back out there again in less than three months taking Helen’s wonderful story to audiences across the UK.”

By the Waters of Liverpool comes to the Auditorium at the M&S Bank Arena from September 4-6.

It will also be at St Helens Theatre Royal from October 9-11, The Atkinson at Southport from October 12-14 and the Floral Pavilion from October 24-29.

Top: By The Waters of Liverpool. Photo by Anthony Robling.