Liz Richardson: Local at Lowry
Kristy Stott, Theatre EditorBook now
Liz Richardson: Local
Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.
Following its well-received premiere in Keswick, Liz Richardson’s Local makes its way to Lowry this season. Known for her candid, quietly powerful solo work, Richardson turns her focus to home in this multi-generational piece – specifically, her hometown in West Cumbria – to explore whether she still belongs there, or ever truly did.
Part-autobiographical and gently inquisitive, Local mixes memoir, humour and real conversations with the community Richardson grew up in. The result is a performance that’s both personal and widely resonant, moving between childhood memories and present-day questions of identity, class and belonging.
Staged with subtle visuals and a soundscape that conjures rural life in the early ’90s, Local balances intimacy with big-hearted storytelling. Richardson is a compelling performer – warm, sharp, and always emotionally perceptive.
The show follows in the footsteps of Richardson’s previous work Gutted and SWIM, which also drew on lived personal experience to explore wider social and emotional landscapes. And while Local may appear small in scale, it’s quietly ambitious in its universal themes – a thoughtful examination of how place shapes us, and what we carry with us when we leave.
Whether you’re from a tight-knit village or a busy city in constant flux, Local invites you to consider your own story – and your ties to the place you call home.
