Co-produced with Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, this production is adapted by Emma Rice (North by Northwest, Liverpool Playhouse). It marks the return of Everyman’s panto star Zoe West as Bill Robinson and Stephanie Hockley as Irene & MD, and features live music at the Liverpool Playhouse from Tuesday 16 to Saturday 20 June.
Zoe West takes on the role of Bill Robinson; their Everyman credits include Romeo and Juliet alongside the Rock ‘n’ Roll pantos Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, and Cinderella. They are joined by Stephanie Hockley, who previously appeared in Everyman’s Sleeping Beauty, Robin Hood and the 2016 production of Beauty and the Beast.
Completing the cast are Eden Barrie (Grease, Nessie and Toast Fae the Lassies, Pitlochry Festival Theatre) as Mary Lou Atkinson, Molly Cheesley (NOW That’s What I Call A Musical and Jane Austen’s Emma, UK Tour) as Alicia Johns and Rebecca Collingwood (The Motive and the Cue, National Theatre; Much Ado About Nothing, RSC) as Gwendolyn Lacey. Emily Panes (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Ambassadors Theatre; Twelfth Night, Mill at Sonning and Cunard Cruises)joins the cast as Musician, alongside Robyn Sinclair (Four Felons and a Funeral, UK tour; The Grapes of Wrath, National Theatre)as Darrell Rivers and Bethany Wooding (The Crucible, Shakespeare’s Globe; Peerless, Rodney and The Shrieking Sisterhood, Sherman Theatre) playsSally Hope.
This production is directed by Emma Rice, who was named in the Sky Arts Top 50 most influential British artists. She was with Kneehigh Theatre for 20 years as an actor, director, and later artistic director, working alongside co-artistic director Mike Shepherd. From 2016 to 2018, she served as Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe before founding her own touring theatre company, The Emma Rice Company (formally Wise Children).
Following the 2019 tour, Malory Towers returns by popular demand. Marking the production’s Liverpool debut, Emma Rice said:
“I am thrilled to be returning to Malory Towers! There is something exciting about a new class and a new term. We have done some fantastic new work on the design so it will feel like a box fresh new uniform. This production has the most virtuosic score and soundtrack. My cast are all exceptional singers and the close harmony songs will knock your socks off! I think we are all ready for some hope and some fun and this will feel like spring has finally come. In these difficult and uncertain political times, this is exactly what we all need. A good time underpinned by kind and inclusive values.“
The production’s set and costume design is by Liverpool-born Lez Brotherston. An Associate Artist of Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, Brotherston began his career at the Playhouse Youth Theatre. The creative team is completed by composer Ian Ross, sound and video designer Simon Baker, and choreographer Alistair David. Joining them arefight director Kev McCurdy, associate director Laura Keefe, and lighting designer Malcolm Rippeth, with additional Vocal Arrangements by Nigel Lilley, dream sequence animations by Beth Carter & Stuart Mitchell, and puppetry by Lyndie Wright with Sarah Wright asPuppetry Consultant.
Malory Towers is the original ‘Girl Power’ story, a show for girls, boys and all grown-up children who still dream of midnight feasts and Cornish clifftops. Co-produced by Emma Rice Company, Alexandra Palace Theatre, Belgrade Theatre, HOME Manchester, and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse. Captioned and audio-described performances are available during the run. A captioned performance will take place on Friday 19 June at 7.30pm, and an audio-described performance on Saturday 20 June at 7.30pm. The Emma Rice Company will also host an educator CPD workshop for teachers, lecturers, and youth theatre leaders on Wednesday 17 June, offering participants the chance to dive into their innovative approach to theatre-making.
Malory Towers plays at Liverpool Playhouse stage Tuesday 16 to Saturday 20 June. Tickets are available here.
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