Waiting for Brando returns

Waiting for Brando is a play based on an urban myth about two Mersey seamen who supposedly played a unique - albeit fleeting - part in a classic film.It made its debut during the Writing on the Wall festival last year, and runs at the Unity next week before embarking on a national tour.The two-act play, by playwrights Mike Morris and Steve Higginson, is based around Marlon Brando's On The Waterfront.It’s said that when a scene was filmed in a New Jersey bar in December 1953, two Liverpool Merchant Seamen were allowed to stay sitting in. You can see the back of their heads in a mirror, or so the story goes…Against the backdrop of the McCarthyist witchhunts and the emergence of rock and roll in America, the play tells the story of those two young seamen and two giants of the American stage and screen - the film's director Elia Kazan and playwright Arthur Miller - confronting their pasts as they prepare for the future. It is described as "a fast tale of brotherhood, betrayal, secrets and showdowns, where only one thing is certain – everything is going to change when Brando arrives".Waiting for Brando is directed by and stars Carl Cockram, and features its original cast of Paul Duckworth (most recently seen in the revival of Beating Berlusconi), Joe Shipman, Danny Hayes.Co-author and producer Mike Morris said: ‘We are really looking forward to our play being performed again in the city. We were delighted with the success it enjoyed last year. It’s a real success for Liverpool that the play is also going to a wider national audience."Whilst in some ways Waiting for Brando is a uniquely Liverpudlian tale, it is a terrific story, which coupled with great acting, will have wide appeal."Catch it at the Unity from April 16 to 20, plus a post-show Q&A on April 18. For more info, visit the website.