It’s the Most Busiest Time of the Year (Again)

I’ve written a new play, mostly as a transparent excuse to see my friend Francesco shoved off a high place in front of a live audience. The Elf That Fell off the Shelf is ‘a Christmas adventure for the whole family,’ and is produced by Prescot-based Imaginarium Theatre. Book your tickets at imaginariumtheatre.co.uk.

On Saturday 10 December I’ll be donning my Santa suit and crooning to babies, toddlers and their parents once again in the Lady Chapel of Liverpool Cathedral. This will be my fourth festive appearance for Music in Unison, a formidable force in early years music education in Merseyside.

I’ll be back in the cathedral on Friday 16 December at 1.30pm to give the Francis Neilson Lunchtime Concert. Expect a short recital (30 to 40 minutes) with an enchanting programme of seasonal music, tantalisingly titled ‘Box of Delights.’ Entry is free, but donations are welcome in aid of Liverpool Cathedral Choir’s touring fund.

As always, I’m busy at the Church of St Mary the Blessed Virgin, Prescot, conducting and singing at events and services including the Mayor of Prescot’s Charity Christmas Concert on Thursday 8 December and Carols by Candlelight, a traditional Festival of Lessons and Carols, on Sunday 18 December. The full schedule of Advent and Christmas services at St Mary’s is online at prescotparish.org.uk.

Photo: Sue Mannings

Project: Tales of Court Hey

In July 2022 I was asked to write a short play for Prescot-based Imaginarium Theatre, a community-based performing arts company (and associate company of the Shakespeare North Playhouse) with whom I’ve worked on and off since 2016, playing such roles as Caliban in The Tempest, Friar Laurence in Romeo and Juliet and the Spirit of Christmas Present in A Christmas Carol. This project was commissioned by One Knowsley for the Knowsley Feel Good Festival and Knowsley Flower Show, held on 6 and 7 August 2022.

The brief was to create a fun and fast-paced family show about the history of Court Hey Park, where the performances were to take place. With the help of the Friends of Court Hey Park and Knowsley Council, I delved into the archives and picked out a handful of historical episodes that would give an entertaining and informative glimpse into the park’s past.

The writing process was not without its challenges – not least my coming down with Covid a few days in – but the resulting performance was tremendously fun and brilliantly received. It focused on the life of Robertson Gladstone, the 19th-century merchant and politician (and brother of Liberal PM William Ewart Gladstone) who built Court Hey Hall, a mansion that stood on the present site from 1836 to 1955. Part-Carry On, part-Horrible Histories, The Gladstones of Court Hey may have been an absurdly comical farce, but it was very much rooted in the facts, touching on politics, religion, the social realities of Victorian life and the story of the Gladstone family, warts and all. The framing scenes, involving a pair of present-day police officers and an over-enthusiastic archaeologist, highlighted the family’s legacy, and how the Gladstones’ love of the outdoors and support for education lives on in what takes place in Court Hey Park today.

The play was written for a cast of three, who handled a colourful array of props and underwent multiple costume changes, switching breathlessly between approximately 15 different roles. Their improvisational skills and knack for audience interaction brought the script alive, engaging crowds ranging in age from toddler to pensioner.

The project was funded through a Knowsley Heritage Grant, via One Knowsley and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Pictured, top: Director Gaynor La Rocca, actors Rachael Reason, Francesco La Rocca and Kieran McCarthy-Hoare, and yours truly, the writer. Photos: Kristian Lawrence

Review: The Haunting of Hill House

An Invitation to Terror: The Haunting of Hill House Reviewed
Liverpool Playhouse, 7 December 2015-16 January 2016

While you might leave behind one or two of the wordier scenes and the occasionally convoluted machinations of the plot, the warped, surreal benightedness of The Haunting Of Hill House – a new commission for the stage from Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse — will almost certainly follow you out of the theatre.

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