A Clockwork Orange at Liverpool Everyman

In his 1962 novel of teen culture gone bad, Anthony Burgess unleashed the amoral Alex on the world. Now, in his own stage adaptation, A Clockwork Orange springs dangerously to life, slashing open humanity with a sharp lyrical edge and taking a long hard look inside.

Written in 1986, Anthony Burgess’ version for the stage is a play with music and is largely a condensed version of Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 film.

Performed by Liverpool’s award-winning Everyman Company, the performance will encapsulate all of the ultra-violence and the incredibly sinister scenes which we automatically associate with A Clockwork Orange. However, the play also has a massive theatricality about it and moves between song, dance, cabaret and music hall. And of course, Ludwig Van Beethoven’s music features, beautiful yet powerful – dangerous and redemptive when it is set to the context of Alex’s story.

Described by Time magazine as a ‘nasty little shocker’ following its release, A Clockwork Orange will be directed by Nick Bagnall who first encountered the novel when he was sixteen, “It seemed to hit me in the stomach. I loved its language, its violence, just the whole muscle of the book really hit me. When we were thinking about big titles for this year, I suggested it without really knowing whether there was a play version of it.”

Punctuated with an evocative musical score and studded with Burgess’ own songs, A Clockwork Orange at the Everyman promises to be a thrilling, razor-sharp tale which explores transgression, free will and the power of Beethoven’s music.