Liverpool Theatre Festival at St Luke’s Bombed Out Church

Liverpool Theatre Festival at St. Luke’s, Liverpool, City Centre, 31 August–11 September 2022 - Book now

Liverpool Theatre Festival brings its third edition of live open air theatre back to the city this autumn. Taking over the atmospheric St Luke’s Bombed Out Church, the brilliant festival features musical theatre, drama, comedy, cabaret, opera and children’s shows.

Live open air theatre comes back to Liverpool this autumn.

Created by theatre producer Bill Elms, the first Liverpool Theatre Festival took place in 2020 and was set up as a lifeline for Liverpool’s live arts and creative sector following the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic. Presented in the apt surroundings of the Bombed Out Church – hit during the Liverpool Blitz of 1941 – the symbolic setting acts as a reminder of challenging times and a community’s strength to pull through.

So what can we expect from the festival for 2022? Well, in previous years we’ve seen an exciting and eclectic outdoor programme featuring established theatre companies and artists, alongside emerging musical stars, comedy nights, festival premieres and family shows.

An exciting and eclectic outdoor programme featuring established theatre companies and artists.

Two shows which were performed earlier this year at Little LTF (Liverpool Theatre Festival Of New Works) will return to the main festival. Written by Tom Cain, 97+ is a drama based on the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster. Powerfully written and sensitively performed, the production received incredible reviews from critics and audiences when it premiered at Little LTF earlier this year. Additionally, part physical comedy, part murder-mystery, Drunk But Not Disorderly will also take to the main festival stage – if you didn’t catch it earlier this year, you’ve got another chance to see it.

Further highlights include I Wish My Life Were Like a Musical, Julie Madly, Deeply and Looking For Me Friend – The Music of Victoria Wood. All three shows has received rave reviews at Edinburgh Fringe and will come directly to Liverpool Theatre Festival following their performances in the Scottish capital.
Meanwhile, celebrated Liverpool writer Ian Salmon is set to return with a brand new version of one of his first successful plays. Venus Rising is a very modern love story about loss, regret, the decisions we make, and finding out what we actually need.

For 2022, the festival will see the launch of a brand new night featuring the finest and quirkiest cabaret acts from across the region. Expect comedy, burlesque, music, and circus in the Holy Moly Cabaret, hosted by the super talented Nana Funk and starring Liverpool’s very own Millie Dollar.

Further festival shows announced include Laughterhouse Comedy; Ma Joyce’s Tales From The Parlour; Opera Beneath The Stars; Dame Fanny & The Starlets – A Family Friendly Drag Show and Drag Me To Church – Dragstravaganza.

We’re super thrilled that the Liverpool Theatre Festival is back for 2022. Take a look at the full programme and be sure to get booked in early.