Unity Theatre in Liverpool is delighted to announce its 2019 Spring season. A number of theatre-makers return to the venue by popular demand, presented alongside award-winning new work from the Edinburgh and Manchester Fringe Festivals.

Unity Theatre gives audiences and participants opportunities to engage with live performances that excite, entertain and inspire. Their theatre spaces are intimate, allowing visitors to experience the exhilaration of live performance, up close. They’ve been behaving radically onstage since the 1930’s and to this day, their theatre serves as a counterpoint to the mainstream, championing equality for diverse audiences and artists.

Family challenges are tackled head on in energetic cabaret-style with Edinburgh Fringe hit No Kids on 24 – 25 Jan, where same-sex couple George and Nir delve into the conundrum of whether to procreate. Unconventional families take centre stage in David Judge’s SparkPlug from 26 Feb – 2 Mar as a white man becomes the adoptive father, mother and best friend of a mixed-race child. Finally, generations are at odds in Under the Umbrella (21-23 March) when a grandmother takes her granddaughter’s love life into her own hands at the ‘marriage market’ of Guangzhou.     

20 Stories High and Theatre Rites join forces for Big Up! (8 – 16 Feb) a new show for 3-6 year-olds and their families that brings together a beatboxer and a puppeteer. The team also bring Mash Up (14 Feb) – a fusion of music and spoken word for ages 13 and up. We’re also delighted that on 9 Feb poet, author and broadcaster Lemn Sissay MBE will join us for a fundraising evening of poetry and discussion.

Full mask theatre company Vamos return with A Brave Face on 21 – 22 Feb, last seen here in spring 2018 and loved by Unity audiences. Also making a comeback by popular demand is Chris Thorpe, one of the UK’s most exciting theatre-makers. His show Status (30 March) questions some of the most pressing issues of our time; nationality, identity and belonging. We also welcome back Red Ladder, who join us with Glory (14 – 16 March), produced with The Dukes in association with Tamasha. It’s a hilarious new play from award-winning writer Nick Ahad about three wrestlers and what they’ll do to achieve glory. 

Finishing the season is Will Hammond’s POP on 11 – 12 April, where a teenage friendship is put to the test in this audacious portrait of urban 1990’s Northern Britain. The show, from EVENTHORIZON. THEATRECO. won the prestigious Pick of the Fringe Award at the Greater Manchester Fringe 2018 and is hotly anticipated.

Gordon Millar, Unity Theatre’s Artistic Director and CEO, comments:


“Our Spring 2019 season is a dynamic mix of powerful storytelling, contemporary themes and meaningful theatre that packs a punch. We have world class theatre-makers like Chris Thorpe back by popular demand, alongside much-anticipated Unity first-timers such as Yellow Earth. We’re kicking off the new year with some of the boldest, most exhilarating theatre around, and I hope you can join us.”

LISTINGS

No Kids | Theatre Ad Infinitum | Thu 24 – Fri 25 January 2019 | 7.30pm | £15 (£12 conc)
Big Up! | Theatre-Rites and 20 Stories High | Fri 08 – Sat 16 February 2019 | Various times | (£9 children | £14 Adults)
Mash Up | Theatre-Rites and 20 Stories High | Thur 14 Feb | 7.30pm | £5
A Brave Face | Vamos Theatre | Thu 21 – Fri 22 February 2019 | 7.30pm | £14.50 (£12.50 conc)
Sparkplug | by David Judge | Tue 26 February – Sat 02 March 2019
Glory | The Dukes and Red Ladder in association with Tamasha | Thu 14 – Sat 16 March 2019 | £12 (£10 Conc)
Under the Umbrella | Belgrade Theatre Coventry in association with Yellow Earth and Tamasha | Thu 21 – Sat 23 March 2019 | Prices: £12 (£10 Concs)
Status | China Plate and Staatstheater Mainz | Sat 30 March 2019 | £12 (£10 Concs)
POP | EVENTHORIZON. THEATRECO | Thu 11 – Fri 12 April 2019 | £14 (£12 Concs)

Full listings and tickets for all shows available at www.unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk. Excluding Big Up! and Lemn Issay Independent Liverpool cardholders can get 2-4-1 tickets on all evenings.

Box Office: 0151 709 4988 or www.unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk
Venue: Unity Theatre, 1 Hope Pl, Liverpool L1 9BG