Fringe hit The Events comes to the Everyman

David Greig’s The Events, one of the most critically acclaimed plays of last year, comes to the new Liverpool Everyman - its first ever touring show.  from April 8 to 12. The production uses a soaring soundtrack sung by an onstage local choir and explores how a small community copes and moves on in the wake of an unspeakable tragedy. Screams echo through corridors. The sound of gunfire rings out. As the wounds on a community are left gaping, young choir leader Claire (Amanda Drew, previously seen on the Liverpool stage in the Playhouse's 2012 A Streetcar Named Desire) begins her quest to heal and to understand – a mission that tears her own life apart. The Events sensitively looks at the impact a horrific politically motivated crime has on a small town, exploring themes of community, empathy and forgiveness in the wake of an unspeakable act. Adding an extra theatrical dimension, The Events will include a different local choir drawn from different parts of Merseyside at each performance. They will represent the singers that Claire is choirmaster of, the wider community who are dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy, and a Greek Chorus – commenting and responding to the action as it unfolds. David Greig is one of the UK’s leading dramatists and his plays have been performed extensively in the UK and around the world. His work has been produced by the Tricycle Theatre, Donmar Warehouse and the RSC, and his award winning plays include Midsummer (Edinburgh Traverse Theatre), Dunsinane (Hampstead Theatre), and the new West End stage musical of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Theatre Royal). Director Ramin Gray is artistic director of Actors Touring Company, and was previously international associate then associate director at the Royal Court London. In 1990 he was awarded a Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme bursary which brought him to the Liverpool Playhouse, where he directed Spring Awakening and A View from the Bridge, as well as becoming a key figure in the revival of the Playhouse Studio (how strange that this season at the same theatre features both those productions again!). As well as her powerful performance of Blanche in Streetcar, Amanda Drew (not pictured above) is known for her role as Dr May Wright in Eastenders. Her most recent stage appearance was in the Olivier award-winning production of The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-time (National Theatre). Playing opposite Amanda will be Clifford Samuel, whose credits include Statement of Regret (National Theatre) and Two Gentlemen of Verona (RSC). The Events premiered at the Traverse Theatre as part of the Edinburgh International Festival, where it won a Fringe First Award. The choirs scheduled for the Liverpool shows are Up for the Arts (Tue), Liverpool Community Choir (Wed), Singing Our Socks Off (Thu), Capriccio Singers (Fri & Sat, 2pm), and Sense of Sound Singers (Sat, 7.30pm). For tickets and more info, visit the Everyman website.