We welcome the announcement that Liverpool Theatre Festival will return in Autumn 2022 to take place for a third consecutive year. Alongside Liverpool Theatre Festival 2022, there is the return of Little LTF, the festival’s sister event. This showcases new works, and it will also return for a second year in Spring 2022.
Liverpool Theatre Festival 2022
Description Of Liverpool Theatre Festival 2022
Liverpool Theatre Festival was first staged in September 2020 to boost the city’s live performance and creative arts sectors following the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the industry. After a hugely successful inaugural year, the event returned in 2021 welcoming 2,700 festivalgoers across 12 days, with a programme featuring 23 performances of 16 shows. Last year also saw the introduction of fringe event Little LTF, a seven-day mini-festival to champion and showcase new works and talent, which attracted 1,200 festivalgoers in year one.
The organisers have also confirmed the dates for this year’s two events. Liverpool Theatre Festival 2022 will take place between Wednesday 31 August and Sunday 11 September 2022. It will be preceded by Little LTF (Liverpool Theatre Festival Of New Works) from Monday 2 May to Sunday 8 May 2022. Both events will once again take place at St Luke’s Bombed Out Church in Liverpool city centre, the marquee as the backdrop for Little LTF, with the main festival taking place outdoors.
Genres
The festival has a diverse range and an inclusive genre of live performance pieces. Each year, LTF features comedy, musicals, drama, opera, dance, LGBTQ, and children’s productions. Liverpool Theatre Festival 2022 comes from the mind of Liverpool theatre producer Bill Elms, who has worked in the theatre industry for more than 30 years. Theatres and live entertainment venues had to close immediately under the Government’s first national lockdown guidelines in March 2020.
It was Bill’s mission to reinvigorate and boost the city’s live performance and creative arts sector, offering a lifeline when it was needed most. Liverpool Theatre Festival happened in a matter of weeks. Its inaugural staging won praise from audiences and critics alike, as well as winning an award along the way. Due to its ongoing success and continuing growth, Bill was nominated for a Liverpool City Region Culture & Creativity Award for a second consecutive year. A new promotional trailer for Liverpool Theatre Festival 2022 comes from Liverpool Film Initiative.
Productions
Liverpool Theatre Festival 2022 is committed to supporting local artists, creatives, and theatre companies. During the two events in 2021, a total of 30 local and regional diverse theatrical productions were staged – resulting in almost 200 performers, musicians and creatives involved and working as the pandemic continued. Shows for the main Liverpool Theatre Festival will be announced in the coming months.
Submissions
Meanwhile, creatives can now submit new works for Little LTF. The deadline is Friday 18 March 2022. The team particularly welcomes submissions from Liverpool’s diverse communities and arts organisations. This is to fully represent the cityscape. And children’s productions can also apply. Scripts must be complete or already in development. Creatives must link to Liverpool City Region or the wider North West area. A panel of industry professionals will select works. And media and theatre programmers will get to see the premieres first-hand at the festival. Accolades will also go to outstanding productions in specific categories.
Last year, “the incredible calibre of work and remarkable talent overwhelmed” of submissions. All productions in the festival line-up will appear for the very first time at the festival. The selection panel includes LTF Festival Director Bill Elms; theatre director and producer James Baker; Francesca Peschier, Head of New Works at Everyman Playhouse; arts marketing professional Anthony Proctor; freelance arts consultant Sue Williams; and national theatre booker David Fry.
Comments
Bill Elms said: “We are incredibly excited to announce the return of Liverpool Theatre Festival for a third consecutive year, and Little LTF is back for a second year. The pandemic struck the creative arts and live performance sector of Liverpool City Region hard. Live theatre has been my passion for more than 30 years and I just had to do something to help.
“There’s the support we’ve received since we announced the first festival in August 2020. You can really feel just how much live performance and entertainment means to people. People were desperate to experience that thrill once again. And now we’re back with a main festival for established work and performers. Not to mention a fringe event to showcase and celebrate new work.
“The festival has already established itself as a staple in the city’s annual theatre calendar. Success stories are now a direct result of the festival. And numerous shows have gone on to achieve greater success in regional venues and touring the UK. Theatre is back, join us on the next exciting adventure of Liverpool Theatre Festival.”
Support
Theatregoers can support the event. They can join the Friends Of Liverpool Theatre Festival. The membership programme and loyalty scheme ensures that members have an integral role. This allows the festival to grow into one of the UK’s top arts festivals. Festival friends will be directly supporting the local arts scene. And it helps to maintain accessible, diverse, inclusive, affordable arts in Liverpool. Sponsorship and partner opportunities are also available to help grow and strengthen the future of the event. Funding and donations are also welcome.
Liverpool Theatre Festival 2022 Further Links
You can find out all of the latest news about the festival on the official LTF website.
Furthermore, you can check out our previous coverage of the 2020 and 2021 festivals.
