YEP Directors Festival returns to Everyman studio

The YEP Directors Festival returns to the Liverpool Everyman this autumn.

Five productions will be staged in the Hope Street theatre’s Studio space between September 27 and October 12 in what is the culmination of the Everyman and Playhouse’s training scheme for young directors aged 18 to 25

The festival opens on September 27-28 with Martin Crimp’s Play House. Eira Murphy directs the story about a young couple, Simon and Katrina, who attempt to make a home across 13 brief scenes.

Kate Thornhill directs Ruckus by Jenna Fincken on October 1-2. The one-woman thriller looks at the issue of coercive control and women murdered by their partners.

Mike Bartlett’s Bull, an exploration of the blurred lines between office politics and playground bullying, comes to the stage on October 4-5 with Dominic Quinn in the director’s chair.

It is followed on October 8-9 by David Eldridge’s sharp drama about middle-aged, middle-class marriage – Middle – which will be directed by Olivia Byrne, and finally, Tyler Kane takes the helm for Burying Your Brother in the Pavement by Jack Thorne on October 11-12.

Everyman and Playhouse head of young people and community Hayley Lindley-Thornhill says: “YEP Directors Festival is a very special event as it marks the end of our training programme for 18 to 25-year-old directors. Since February, they have been developing and learning their skills and directing their first full-length show in our studio space.

“Each director is supported by one of our YEP Producers with a team of technicians from our YEP Technicians programme. It enables our YEP company to collaborate with each other and really takeover our spaces.” 

The festival will be followed on October 25-26 by the YEP Writers Showcase which will shine the spotlight on new work by this year’s cohort of young writers including Sam Cooper, Anais Paul, Libby Raby, Hope Tsuma, Ro Lewis, Erin Eynon-Daly, Liana Khonje, Evyn Seaton-Mooney, and Beattie.

YEP Directors Festival is being staged at the Liverpool Everyman from September 27 to October 12. Tickets at £5 are available HERE