Shakespeare gets a makeover by 20 Stories High

Some of Shakespeare’s best-known female characters take to the stage at the Unity Theatre this month – but not as you’re ever likely to have seen them before.

Liverpool theatre company 20 Stories High will be at the Hope Place venue with its touring production Who The F-K is Shakespeare? from September 19-21.

Written and directed by the company’s associate artistic director Ameera Conrad, the show features Lady Macbeth, Ophelia, Cleopatra and Viola who are here to tell their side of the story in what is described as a radical reimagining of Shakespeare’s 400-year-old works – armed with punchy verses and punk attitudes.

All their lives, these characters have been told a specific narrative of who they are, but for the first time they will own the space to figure this out for themselves.

Expect discussions around violence, patricide, suicide, murder, racism and not forgetting the patriarchy, but also plenty of tongue-in-cheek fun.

The cast includes Mary Savage (Richard, My Richard at Shakespeare North Playhouse), Harriet O’Grady (Richard III at Liverpool Playhouse) Beca Barton and Jada-Li Warracan.

A Friday matinee will be followed by a post-show Q&A while the show on Saturday, September 21 will feature an open mic in the bar afterwards.

Who the F-K is Shakespeare was previously staged at the Unity last winter.

Along with these latest Liverpool dates, the show will also be at Shakespeare North Playhouse on September 24 and will go on to the Bolton Octagon, Contact Theatre in Manchester, Chester Storyhouse and the Bernie Grant Arts Centre in Tottenham.

Who The F-K is Shakespeare? is at the Unity Theatre from September 19-21 and is suitable for audiences aged 14 and over. Tickets HERE

Top: The cast of Who The F-K is Shakespeare? Photo by Rebecca Oliver.