TWOPENCE TO CROSS THE MERSEY to Play Royal Court Theatre

Following a hugely successful tour across Merseyside earlier this year, Twopence to Cross the Mersey will return for a three-week run next Autumn at the newly refurbished Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool.

The new stage play version of Helen Forrester's Twopence to Cross the Mersey wowed audiences in Liverpool, Southport, St Helens and Wirral during a six-week tour in Spring 2015.

Due to popular demand, Twopence to Cross the Mersey will return to entertain larger audiences for 23 shows at the popular Royal Court, which has undergone a multi-million pound refurbishment.

The new version is being staged by Pulse Records Ltd in collaboration with producer and stage writer Rob Fennah and producer Bill Elms. They are joined by director Bob Eaton.

The show will open on Tuesday, 20 September, 2016 and will run for three weeks until Saturday, 8 October, 2016.

Preview performance tickets for Tuesday and Wednesday, 20 and 21 September, 2016, are priced at £15 (excluding booking fee). Standard ticket prices then range between £20 and £26 (excluding booking fee).

Full cast details will be announced in the coming months.

Producer and stage writer Rob Fennah said: "I had always visualised Twopence to Cross the Mersey as a straight play and was thrilled when audience and reviewers alike gave the new adaptation a big thumbs up. Taking the play to the Royal Court Liverpool will enable even greater numbers of Helen's readers to come and see her most famous book come to life on stage.

"Earlier this year, Helen's son, Robert Bhatia, and his family, flew in from Canada especially to see it. Robert told me he could feel his mother's presence on the stage and was so captivated by the performance he was moved to tears."

Kevin Fearon, Chief Executive of Royal Court Liverpool, added: "Twopence has always been a show that has gone down well in the city and I think that it will be a great fit for our audience. Bob Eaton, who has directed so much here, has done a great job with this version and the cast were fantastic too. I'm already looking forward to seeing it on the Royal Court stage!"

Helen Forrester's Twopence to Cross the Mersey tells the true story of a young girl and her formerly wealthy family as they are suddenly thrown into poverty during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Leaving behind the nannies, servants and comfortable middle-class life in the South West of England, they uproot their shattered lives and choose Liverpool as the place to start again to rebuild their dreams and fortune. Unbeknown to them however, a terrible shock awaits them.

This year's tour of the Twopence stage play included a momentous milestone - 21 years since it was first performed to audiences at the Liverpool Empire, in its musical form.

To post a comment, you must register and login.