By The Waters Of Liverpool
Format: Play
Genre: Drama
Writer: Rob Fennah
Cast: Sian Reeves, Mark Moraghan, Lucy Dixon, Lynn Francis, Eric Potts, Parry Glasspool, Danny O’Brien, Roy Carruthers & Chloe McDonald
Review Date: March 5 2020
Performances: March 3-8 2020, 7.30pm & 2.30 matinees
Location: Floral Pavilion, New Brighton
Duration: 150 Minutes incl. Interval
Age Rating: 10+
By The Waters Of Liverpool is one of the most anticipated shows to come to the North-West this year, and it has just premiered at New Brighton’s Floral Pavilion. After watching this performance, we have to say that it more than lived up to the hype, offering a gripping, fully relatable and unforgettable theatre experience.
Synopsis
For those who have watched the original Helen Forrester tale Twopence To Cross The Mersey, this follow-up production tells a similar tale, essentially telling us what happened next in the life of Helen Forrester (played by Lucy Dixon), having previously earned the chance to garner a strong level of education, despite the wishes of her parents (played by Sian Reeves and Mark Moraghan). In this tale, we are several years along in the lives of the Forresters, and now the family have fallen on hard times from a financial standpoint. Once a picture of wealth, they are now struggling to get by, and it doesn’t help that the matriarch of the family is more concerned with dedicating the small amount of money they are receiving towards her habit of smoking cigarettes, as opposed to properly providing for her family. The father is still working, but hardly to the extent that he had been previously.
All of which means that Helen feels as restricted as ever. She wants to put her obvious skills to good use, and to provide for both herself and her family by going out and getting a job. But that conflicts with the desires of her parents and in particular her snob-like mother, who would much rather that she stays at home and looks after her relatives (partly because she is proving increasingly incapable of such tasks herself). Her younger sister (played by Chloe McDonald) is the preferred female “star” of the family to her mum, as she is deemed to be more attractive and getting all the attention from the local lads. Even her younger brother (played by Parry Glasspool) is prioritised more due to his studies, which could potentially get him a successful career. He’s a lad, after all, and in that era, there was still a prevailing sense that the females should stay at home, future ambitions be damned.
But that doesn’t stop the driven, talented, motivated and hard-working Helen, who manages to maintain her passion to forge ahead in spite of all the obstacles. Her perseverance is rewarded when a lady from the local church (played by Lynn Francis) invites the family offspring to join the local choir, and for Helen to become a social worker. Her mother is typically angered at such a suggestion, but eventually she relents, and Helen is able to make headway. She starts off strong, but becomes disappointed by her family circumstances which continue to hold her back, thus creating even more stress and psychological trauma, which reflect upon how she moves and appears visibly to others, and this has us wondering how Helen will find the right path forward for her life based on a seemingly never-moving weight around her neck.
Analysis
This was a tremendous show from start to finish. There are outstanding performances by all, but Lynn Francis and Mark Moraghan are particularly awesome at having us, the audience, fully relate to the family drama, the troublesome characteristics of certain relatives, and the general black cloud that hangs over not only Helen, but others when they realise just how restrictive her parents can be. It is hugely emotive, and it is a tale which a lot of people – especially females – who grew up during the mid-20th century can not only relate to, but experienced for themselves. It is powerful and very emotional, so much so that we advise anyone attending to bring along tissues or handkerchiefs, because we heard and saw plenty of people in the audience reaching for something to wipe their tears away at various points.
The authenticity is crucial to this. Anyone can put on a show which is designed to make you feel sympathetic, but the production team have gone to the greatest of lengths to make sure that this is as realistic as possible. This comes down to the performers themselves, but also the setting, the stage directions, the lighting (provided by Ian Scott) and also the sound (courtesy of Kate Harvey), all of which take this from being a show we are watching to an event that we truly feel a part of. There are numerous times when you just feel like screaming angrily at Helen’s mother for her selfish outlook, and other moments where you want to shout out words of encouragement at Helen to keep her going. It’s worth noting that, besides Lucy Dixon playing Helen, everybody plays multiple characters with multiple accents (from Scouse to German), which demonstrates how versatile and grafting this highly talented and experienced cast are. There are further moments that touch the heart, such as Helen stating that “every girl in Liverpool knows a serviceman”, which was not only pretty accurate based on the pre-WW2 timeline, but also very close to home for those whose husbands, fathers and sons went to war – especially at sea – and never returned home.
That being said, there are also some lighter moments to ensure that it isn’t all doom and gloom, and the comedic touches are presented very well. In particular, there is the incident where the family have taken in lodgers, and an Irish couple come along and have some, erm, action in the room right next to Helen’s naive brother, who wonders aloud how many times the new residents need to redesign the room by continuously moving the bed! Special mention too to the staff at the Floral Pavilion who made everybody feel welcome from the moment we entered the complex, and there were also hand sanitisers both at the front door and as we entered the auditorium, keeping in line with the ongoing action being taken to circumvent the unwanted yet potential spreading of illnesses.
Summary
The famous playwright Willy Russell was once quoted as saying words to the effect of “if you have to steal an usherette’s outfit to attend the show, do so”. Let’s adapt his words for this production: if you have to pretend to be a member of the cast to make it along to see this show, do so. By The Waters Of Liverpool is incredible and an absolute must-see, and one of the North-West theatre highlights of 2020. See it as soon as you can as a matter of urgency.
Notes
Target Audience: Adults Aged 35+
Content: Some Strong Emotion
Recommendation?: Yes
Overall Rating: 10/10 – Perfect
By The Waters Of Liverpool Tickets
By The Waters Of Liverpool runs at Floral Pavilion until Sunday March 8 2020. To buy tickets, click here or call 0151 666 0000.
