Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse has announced a 2023 season that boasts four re-imagined classics on stage and the introduction of six new Associate Companies.

We will continue to develop and champion the voices and stories that make Liverpool one of the greatest cities in the world.

Highlights of the new season include Caryl Churchill’s classic play Top Girls, the world stage premiere of The Beekeeper of Aleppo ahead of a national tour, Adjoa Andoh as Shakespeare’s iconic antihero Richard III, and a funked-up remix of Alice in Wonderland promising musical fun for all the family.

Everyman Playhouse Liverpool Hope Street Liverpool Confidential Best Poetry Nights — **Liverpool Everyman, Hope Street** Image: Confidentials

As the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse returns to be an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation in 2023, six new Associate Companies are announced. The theatres will forge deeper creative collaborations with 20 Stories High, Cardboard Citizens, Graeae, Homotopia, New Earth and Talawa Theatre Company, working to share knowledge and produce work that nurtures positive social change.

Suba Das, creative director of Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse said, “Re-joining the Arts Council’s National Portfolio means that we can forge ahead with our exciting plans for 2023 and beyond, and alongside our brilliant friends and colleagues in the city continue to bring the most exciting, accessible, and transformative cultural experiences to our audiences. 

“As Eurovision lands, next year promises to shine fresh light on the artistic achievements of our hometown and we will continue to develop and champion the voices and stories that make Liverpool one of the greatest cities in the world.”

Adjoa Andoh Richard Iii Liverpool Everyman — **Adjoa Andoh and Suba Das**

Suba said that the heart of his creative direction of Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse was to ensure their work reflected the communities of the North West. 

"We can’t – and shouldn’t – imagine we can do this alone," Suba said. "I’m thrilled to be working with six new Associate Companies from Liverpool and beyond who have the most extraordinary track record in creating opportunities for performers, creatives and audiences that celebrate the diversity of our world.

“All of us at the Everyman and Playhouse are looking forward to learning more from these partnerships, listening and evolving our own practice, and ensuring we’re the best we can be, for all of the wonderful, diverse communities that make up our city.”

Top Girls Liverpool Everyman Playhouse — **Reimagined for Liverpool, Caryl Churchill’s 'Top Girls'**

Following her critically acclaimed production of Richard II at Shakespeare’s Globe, Adjoa Andoh (Bridgerton) returns to the stage to direct and star as Shakespeare’s most iconic and complex antihero, Richard III.

Adjoa said, “ I'm delighted that the show is a co-production with Liverpool Playhouse, as my mother is a Liverpudlian, and finally I get to perform in her beloved city; our childhoods united on stage. I can't wait to whip off the corsets and share this production with audiences in Liverpool and London next spring.”

Following the opening performances at Liverpool Playhouse from 6-22 April, Richard III will transfer to the Rose Theatre, Kingston.

Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls is 40 years old, but this ground-breaking play is still as relevant as when it was written. Now reimagined for Liverpool and the Everyman by Churchill herself, this dazzlingly inventive and fiercely funny classic is about to be reborn. Top Girls runs at Liverpool Everyman from 3 - 25 March 2023.

Christy Lefteri’s gripping best-selling novel, The Beekeeper of Aleppo reunites the team that produced the international stage sensation The Kite Runner.  Adapted by Nesrin Alrefaai and Matthew Spangler, and directed by Olivier Award winning Miranda Cromwell (Death of a Salesman - Young Vic, Piccadilly Theatre and Broadway), the production will tour the UK after its Liverpool run from 1-11 March 2023.

Stockrooms’ Alice in Wonderland runs at Liverpool Playhouse from 4-22 July, a funked-up remix of Lewis Carroll’s classic, where musical streams and digital dreams collide in a riotous adventure for all the family, bursting with brilliant original music inspired by the best of British pop.

Suzy Ruffell Liverpool Everyman Playhouse — **Suzy Ruffell: Snappy**

As well as their own productions and collaborations, the theatres have announced further additions to their 2023 visiting programme.  

At the Playhouse there’s Death Drop 2: Back in the Habit (7 to 11 February), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (21 to 25 March), Macbeth (25 to 29 April) and Steel Magnolias (23 to 27 May).

While at the Everyman, there are two productions written by Mojisola Adebayo, with Actors Touring Company Family Tree (4 to 6 May) and STARS: An Afrofuturist Space Odyssey from Tamasha (22 to 24 June).

For younger children there’s family favourites at the Playhouse with The Very Hungry Caterpillar (14 to 18 February) and Zog (30 May to 3 June). There are also nights of comedy with Guz Kahn Live (28 January, Playhouse) and Suzie Ruffell: Snappy (28 April, Everyman); magic with Magical Bones: Soulful Magic (17 March, Playhouse); and an evening with renowned designer and potter, Keith Brymer Jones Live: Life, Clay and Everything (20 May, Playhouse).

Further information and tickets for all shows are available now at the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse website.

Read again: Liverpool's top dining deals and eating out offers: January 2023

Get the latest news to your inbox

Get the latest food & drink news and exclusive offers by email by signing up to our mailing list. This is one of the ways that Confidentials remains free to our readers and by signing up you help support our high quality, impartial and knowledgable writers. Thank you!