‘Hope’ is given by @Scotwilliams |

I made a promise to myself that this year Ill make it to the Theatre. I cant say how often as it comes down to time and expenses but I will definitely make it to a few shows this year.

Firstly, why dont I go to the theatre and when was the last time I did go to the theatre?

Well off the top of my head the last time I was in one was 1982 when I was in fact on stage in a large scale pantomime.
When I think about why I havent been back, I find myself realise that all my reasons are in fact…..not valid

They are:

1: Its too expensive.

Well firstly its not, A very large show like The Lion KIng which is currently showing at The Palace Theatre in Manchester have tickets on sale for £20, yes thats a bit more than a cinema ticket but nothing too scary is it.
Looking at the various shows The Palace has coming up, the average ticket price seems to be around the £20 mark.

The Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool has a show coming up called Hope, starring a great cast of UK Talent including Sam Womack, Scot Williams and Rene Zagger (Scot & Renne co starred in a film youll have heard me mention many times.Hard Boiled Sweets)

Ticket prices for this show, which runs March 6th to March 30th 2013 , the cost of tickets start at £10.

Yes £10 which is the price of a cinema ticket.

So that gets rid of the ‘theatre is too expensive thing doesnt it’
(More about Hope later in the show by the way)

Reason 2 for not going to the theatre.

2: It takes too long to get there, watch a show and then get home.

Well thats twaddle.
I went to Manchester yesterday to see The Life Of Pi, We set off at 11am , took an hour to get to Manchester, had some food, watched the movie (including nearly half an hour of previews) and then came home.
We arrived home just before 5 o clock.

Well that about covers the ‘it takes too long to get there’ excuse.

I think the 3rd and final reason is

3: There’s just nothing good on

That reason is the easiest one to debunk. Firstly how do we know there is anything good on, I think its very easy to use that reason and I include myself. Basically I dont know whats on at the theatre because I have never bothered to look until now.
In the past couple of years we have had Daniel Radcliffe on stage, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, and Kristin Scott Thomas. Not all in the same production of course but theatre isnt just amateur dramatics. There is so much more talent on stage than we actually know about.
So those are the three reasons that I havent been to the theatre and every single one of those reasons should be thrown in the bin.

I fully intend to visit the theatre several times in 2013 and of course I shall update you on my thoughts about the whole experience.

Im also going to try my best to give you a new show each week to check out either on the podcast or here on this blog.

This week its a show called Hope.

Hope is a brand new stage play written by and starring some of Liverpool’s film and television acting talent,
It is receiving its world premiere at the Royal Court Theatre Liverpool, (www.royalcourtliverpool.co.uk ) (6 to 30 March, 2013).

An all-star cast has been lined up for this darkly comic psychological thriller, which sees Mark Womack, who recently starred in the BBC1 drama ‘Good Cop,’ making a rare return to the stage.

Mark’s long list of credits include Ken Loach’s ‘Route Irish,’ as well as ‘Murphy’s Law’ and Martina Cole’s ‘The Runaway’ as well as the show ‘Liverpool 1’

Also starring in the production is the brilliant Samantha Womack (previously Samantha Janus) I first became aware Samantha when she starred in the aforementioned excellent TV show ‘Liverpool 1’ and later on her long running stint in BBCs Eastenders

Starring alongside Samantha and Mark Womack is another Liverpool 1 co-star and the play’s writer, director and producer, Scot Williams, who makes a long awaited return to the Liverpool theatre scene after an 18-year hiatus.

In the intervening years, Scot has racked up a number of credits, including the films ‘Backbeat’ (1994), and ‘The Crew’ (2009) And of course Hard Boiled Sweets in 2012, written and directed by Mr David LG Hughes.

Adding to the cast list is René Zagger, a former regular of ITV’s ‘The Bill.’ and has most recently appeared in Martina Cole’s ‘The Take,’ as King Herod in ‘Rome’ and also in the film ‘Hard Boiled Sweets’ (2012,)