A five star, feel good show you will fall in love with
Haunted Scouse and Yellow Breck Road writer Gerry Linford returns to Liverpool’s Royal Court with a brand new comedy drama, The Peaceful Hour - a five star, feel good show show that you will fall in love with.
Set in Kirkby in 1987, The Peaceful Hour follows mobile hairdresser Julie who meets university student Tim on a night out and brings him home. However, their evening is soon disturbed when Julie’s family unexpectedly arrive at her flat - with tales of romance, family and friendship shared in the backdrop of beloved radio show The Peaceful Hour and cheesy love songs.
Directed by Emma Bird, who previously directed Haunted Scouse, The Peaceful Hour is Gerry Linford’s best script yet. Full of heart and filled with plenty of hilarious moments, I left the theatre having fallen in love with not just the story, but with Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre all over again - as if I was seeing a show there for the first time. It is a brilliant opening to a new season at the theatre and sets the bar high for the shows to follow later this year.
The Peaceful Hour opens with Julie and Tim arriving at her flat, which has been beautifully designed by Chris McCourt. The story moves between the living room and the flat veranda, with the veranda placed just behind the living room set and visible throughout, to seamlessly move the action of the story along. The set design is cleverly combined with Jamie Jenkin’s video design, with the video of Kirkby changing to scenes such as the Radio City tower and fireworks in the sky, to add further context to moments in the story.
The heart of the story however is the cast of characters, who like the production, you immediately fall in love with. Ellie Clayton and Jack Whittle, both newcomers to the theatre, are phenomenal as Julie and Tim - two lovers brought together by destiny after Julie misses her bus. Their physical comedy, particularly when singing to Foreigner’s "I Want To Know What Love Is", leaves you crying with laughter - from falling off sofas to singing into household appliances.
Meanwhile, their dance to Etta James’ "At last", perfectly choreographed by Beverley Norris-Edmunds, is reminiscent of classic Hollywood films and performed with passion and energy by the duo. I hope Clayton and Whittle return to the venue in the future, as I was completely captivated by their performances.
Every member of the cast gives a stand out performance. Lenny Wood and Angela Simms as Julie’s sister Ange and Ange’s boyfriend Carl, leave you crying with laughter with their dry comic delivery. Whether it is Wood telling a story about Carl’s friend Ged as he spills food all over the floor, or Simms’ reactions when Ange is speaking to Liverpool legend Pete Price on the radio, their performances are comedy gold. Together with the brilliant Julie Glover as Edna and the wonderful Michael Hawkins as Tommy, whose emotional sing-along to Eric Carmen’s "All By Myself" is another memorable moment in the show, the entire cast deliver incredible performances from the very first minute to the last.
If you are looking for a must see theatre production, full of laughter and love, then look no further than The Peaceful Hour at Liverpool’s Royal Court.
The Peaceful Hour is at Liverpool's Royal Court until 8 March
Photo credit: Atanas Paskalev
Videos