Programme
Welcome To
Hi and welcome to Liverpool’s Royal Court and this production of The Peaceful Hour 2.
It’s not often that a show is such a hit that we commission a sequel before the end of the run, but Gerry Linford’s Peaceful Hour was exactly that show.
If you cast your mind back to this time last year (it was cold, we were skint, we’d just finished dry January) we took you to Kirkby and gave you an unlikely romance between Tim and Julie. Julie’s sister, Ange and her hapless boyfriend Carl were such big characters that we wanted to know more about them. So Gerry has filled us in!
The cast from last year were keen to sign up again and all but one were available. Welcome back Ellie, Julie, Michael, Angela and Lenny. We’ve added another Royal Court favourite in Nathan McMullen and George Turner has stepped in to the role of Tim. We’re delighted to have them on board!
Emma Bird is in the director’s chair once again. She’s got a brilliant eye for comedy and brings out the heart that is always written in to Gerry’s plays. She has put together a brilliant creative team with Ian Scott lighting the place up and Kate Harvey bringing us the sound of the 80s. Jamie Jenkin’s video is a lot better quality than 80s VHS. The set has been designed by Christopher McCourt with an incredible eye for detail. There are lots of 80s memories being reawoken with the décor and props.
Movement and choreography has been developed by Beverley Norris-Edmunds who really knows her stuff and our fantastic Fight Director Kaitlin Howard makes sure the show has a real punch. Jess Dives has brought her musical expertise as Musical Director which transports us back in time.
So it’s nearly time for you to tune in, turn on and laugh out loud. We know that this one is going to be as big a hit as the last. Maybe we’ll be asking Gerry to start work on a third…
Enjoy the show!
Kevin Fearon Executive Producer Liverpool’s
Royal Court
Royal Court Supporters
Liverpool’s Royal Court presents The Peaceful Hour 2
Written by Gerry Linford
Starring Ellie Clayton, Julie Glover, Michael Hawkins, Nathan McMullen, Angela Simms, George Turner and Lenny Wood. Directed by Emma Bird • Designed by Christopher McCourt • Movement Director Beverley Norris-Edmunds Fight Director Kaitlin Howard • Lighting Design by Ian Scott • Sound Design by Kate Harvey • AV by Jamie Jenkin
No contract
No tickets
£6.50 all day parking Sign up and subscribe for FREE
No monthly fees
Director’s Chat with Emma Bird
I’m Emma Bird and I’m the director of The Peaceful Hour 2, so welcome to the show! This is my 6th production for the Royal Court having started directing at the Royal Court in 2022. I’ve been directing for longer, but yeah, it’s good to be here. Good to be back.
When Gerry wrote the first Peaceful Hour in 2025 it was such a relatable family, such lovable characters really believable. You just felt like you knew them. What’s been amazing is doing that imaginative thinking about where this family could be in a year. For me as a director to come back to the project has been absolutely brilliant because I’m working with the same people plus two new cast members - Nathan and George. We’re like a family ourselves. We have a good laugh together, we’re very collaborative and we laugh a lot in rehearsals. So I guess the most enjoyable thing is working with these amazing people again and developing their characters and their story, and just laughing A LOT. That’s been really nice.
This production aligns with my values as I really love how Gerry writes, because he tends to write comedy, the sort of comedy that I value. Comedies that are underpinned by something emotionally honest. Extraordinarily hilarious things can happen, but if it’s underpinned by emotional truth, i.e. what are these characters really feeling, what is the actual reality of these human beings - that aligns with my vision as a director and a comedic
director. I don’t do broad brushstroke comedy, I do comedy with truth that underpins it. So that’s how it aligns with my values as an artistic person. I love comedy, but comedy that’s come from a real place, that a real human being can experience is great.
Another good thing about Gerry’s writing is, there’s always a little bit of politics. So last year, the Peaceful Hour touched on homophobia and this year, the play very briefly touches on Thatcherite policies of managed decline. And the sprinkling of politics is important to me because that’s the reality of a lot of scousers, from the 80s, is that we did suffer from Thatcherite managed decline policies. So, it’s only a smattering of politics, but that’s important to me.
I sort of fell into directing really because I was an actor before. I was teaching drama in schools and started directing school productions. It was that idea of zooming out from being an actor where, primarily, you just worry about yourself and your part, to the whole process and having the scope of everything. From there I went on to work at fringe festivals: Brighton, Liverpool, Manchester Fringe Festivals. And I just started directing more and more. I thought, I really love this.
There’s something incredibly stimulating about project managing a creative endeavour. And you’re in collaboration with people. It’s not just, driven from the front. It’s like, these are the kind of ideas that I’ve got, but I’m interested in what the actors can bring and also what the other creatives bring.
I honestly think having been an actor makes me a better director because I understand the actor’s process. I get that every actor is different in how they approach roles, learn lines, how they learn and create this character. Every actor is unique in their process and I have huge respect for them, their craft and the way actors approach their work. And I think had I not been an actor, I would not understand that as fully as I do.
I prioritize the actors over everything else and their process and respecting it and encouraging actors to find it, trusting actors to find it. I trust them to know that they’ll bring what they bring and I respect it and love it and trust it and then encourage it even more.
I’m not a dictatorial director and I think having been an actor, that has really helped. These are creative people and they have their own way of creating characters. And that’s the priority for me.
I think getting the opportunities in the first place is hard to come by as being a female in this industry means being taken seriously by the industry is more difficult. Having your voice heard can be more challenging. It’s predominantly, or traditionally has been, a very male industry and that is changing and that is good. But the theatre industry has got a load more to do to welcome all sorts of diversity into the building.
For me to have female representation in the creation of work is important and that’s from writers and directors to producers. The Royal Court is quite good as there’s quite a lot of female representation here from producers all through the structure of the company, which I think is probably quite unusual, but really good. So I think that just to be in the room is really hard. Once you’re in the room, it’s then about having your voice heard. But I do think that is changing quite a lot, which I’m glad about.
But, you know, it’s so important. I can think of a few examples where women actors have come to me with concerns or thoughts because I’m a female director. Even in this production, it was like the female characters were less represented, I would say, than the male characters. And so that was raised in a conversation between the female actors and me. And because I am in a position of power within this situation, I’m able to address the issue. But if I had been a male director, a) would the female actors feel like they could approach me with it? b), if they had approached me, would they be listened to? And c), would anything be done about it? That’s why we need women in power in theatre.
I can think of a few amazing female improv comedy actors and performers who’ve inspired me quite a lot. In terms of theatre, I like Emma Rice’s energy. I’m nothing like her as a director, she’s very physical and not so tech-based as I am but I like her anarchic
energy. There’s a little bit of anarchy going on there and I quite like that.
Advice for young women who want to get into the arts? I think they need a helping hand from women who are already in the building. I’ve already had a couple of people, women, young girls, who have come into the rehearsal room or into the tech just this week because they got in touch and said, they’d really like to shadow or observe for the day. And I’m like, yes, come in, get in the room, get into the theatre, just observe. Because I think that it is important that women who are already working in the industry, need to be actively seeking younger women or women of any age. Invite them into the building, invite them into the spaces where we’re lucky enough to exist ourselves and just basically pay it forward. We have a responsibility to say, hey, I’m already in the room, come in and observe and let me introduce you to these people. So yes, pay it forward, build confidence in women who want to go into the arts, kick down some doors!
Rehearsal Photos
Photographs by Liverpool’s Royal Court
Company
Gerry Linford
Emma Bird
Christopher McCourt
Kaitlin Howard
Beverley Norris-Edmunds
Jesscia Dives
Ian Scott
Kate Harvey
Jamie Jenkin
Mitch Fujii-Williams
Marie Jones
Sean Gannon
Danny Haydock
Writer Director
Set & Costume Designer
Fight Director
Movement Director
Musical Director
Lighting Designer
Sound Designer
AV Designer
Head of Wardrobe
Wardrobe Supervisor
Production Manager
Senior Sound Technician
Workshop Manager
John Kavanagh
Scenic Art Manager
Jen Baron
Workshop
Scenic Artists
Cast
Ellie Clayton
Julie Glover
Michael Hawkins
Nathan McMullen
Angela Simms
George Turner
Lenny Wood
Julie Edna Tommy Frankie
Ange
Tim Carl
Kate Eccles
Steph Carter
Laura Spallen
Dan Taylor
Phil Dickinson
Mark Ellis
Jimmi Richardson
Holly Freeman
Danny Haydock
Joe Baron
Tom Evans
Dan Walters
Katie Hinson
Company Stage Manager
Deputy Stage Manager
Assistant Stage Manager
Technical Manager
Deputy Technical Manager
Senior Stage Technician
LX Programmer
LX No 1
Sound No 1
Sound No 2
AV Programmer
Production Electrician
Dresser
Abbie Jones Carpenters
Mike Gray
Shaun Gillespie
Connor McLeod
Thanks to
Gary at Envision Barry at Colourcreate
Cast Biographies
Ellie Clayton Julie
Ellie left her hometown of Liverpool to study Musical Theatre at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She graduated in 2018 and then went on to be the MC of Magic Mike Live, Directed by Channing Tatum at The Hippodrome. Since 2020 she became a regular role in CBBC’s So Awkward Playing ‘Claire Fox’. Ellie’s most recent role was playing Rita in Willy Russell’s classic ‘Educating Rita’ at the Barn Theatre.
Ellie is so excited to be returning to The Royal Court and would like to thank Mum, Dad, Nan and Michael for their constant help and support.
Other credits include Hollyoaks, Fun at The Beach Romp Bomp a Lomp (Southwark Playhouse), Peter Pan (WendyGordon Craig Theatre), Still So Awkward, So Awkward Academy (Claire- CBBC) Alrawabi School for Girls (Netflix), The Peaceful Hour, The Derby-Days (Liverpools Royal Court) Movie Credits- Claire in CBBC’s So Awkward Kids Camp.
Julie Glover Edna
I’m so thrilled to be back as Edna with my wonderful Peaceful Hour family this year!
Julie has worked in theatre, film and television for over twenty years.
Julie has worked with the Royal Court in Hey Bunny Get Loose, Masquerade, My Fairfield Lady, Stage Write Nights, Haunted Scouse, The Peaceful Hour, Stocking Fillers 2025
Theatre credits include: King of Edge Hill (Unity Theatre); Crying In The Chapel (Contact Theatre); Waltz To The Music Of Death (Vienna’s English Theatre).
TV credits include: Emmerdale (ITV); Waterloo Road (BBC); Coronation Street (ITV); The Royal (ITV).
Film credits include: Rose Gold (53 Degrees North); Splintered (Splintered Films) and His Wake (Jamie Noel) which was screened at London Film Festival then internationally and ended up at Cannes.
Michael Hawkins Tommy
Michael graduated from Salford University in 2013 with a HND in Media and Performance.
TV and film credits include; The Long Shadow, Coronation Street, Cilla, Tina And Bobby, Until I Kill You (ITV), Dead Hot (Amazon Prime), Bank Of Dave (Netflix) Walk Like A Panther (Fox International) and various cutting room floors.
Stage credits include; The Peaceful Hour, Lost Soul 2, Sauce And Sorcery (Royal Court Liverpool), Shake It Up Baby! (Epstein Theatre), Cilla The Musical (BKL), A Midsummer Nights Dream, Ray + Julie (Liverpool Everyman), Macbeth (Daniel Taylor Productions), Not The Horse, Sheep, The Comeback Special (Naughty Corner Productions), Ball Of Fire (Blue Park Theatre), Scouse: A Comedy Of Terrors (Lantern Theatre) and Caged Time (Silent Gutter).
Radio; When Elvis Met The Beatles (BBC Radio 2).
Michael is also part of local band Ugly Baby, winners of the 2025 Warriors of Rock: Battle of the Bands, hosted by The Jacaranda.
Nathan McMullen
Frankie
Nathan trained at The Manchester School of Theatre
Theatre credits Include: Wagatha Christie: Rooney v Vardy (Ambassadors Theatre); My Tiller - Vicar’s Daughter, Squirrel Killer (RSC); Our Lady Of Blundellsands (Everyman): Hushabye Mountain (Hope Mill Theatre): Love Liverpool (Playhouse): Blood Knot (Orange Tree): The Big I Am (Everyman): A Clockwork Orange (Everyman): Paint Your Wagon (Everyman): Down the Dock Road (Liverpool’s Royal Court); Boys From The Blackstuff (Liverpool’s Royal Court / National Theatre); The Hudsucker Proxy (Playhouse): Darkness at the Sun Court (Slunglow); Jack And The Beanstalk (West Yorkshire Playhouse) and The Worm Collector (West Yorkshire Playhouse).
TV credits include: Sister Boniface, Doctor Who Christmas Special and Casualty (BBC); The Driver (BBC / Red Productions); Misfits Series 4 & 5 (E4 / Clerkenwell Films) and Shameless (Channel 4 Productions).
Film credits include: Fackham Hall (Bleekerstreet); Rose (Mini Productions); Headless (37 Adventures); The Circle Of Trust (Rankin Films); Kelly + Victor (Hot Property Films) and Coronation Street: A Knights Tale (TV).
Angela Simms Ange
Angela is thrilled to be back at the Royal Court and has loved working on The Peaceful Hour 2.
Angela Co-Wrote and Starred in The Royal. Angela began performing at The Everyman Youth Theatre and then went on to train at Stella Adler New York. Angela has worked on productions for Lime Pictures, Sky Arts and BBC Radio 4 amongst others.
Angela would like to dedicate this run to Alan Stocks who was a much loved member of The Royal Court family, who never failed to make her laugh and who will be so greatly missed.
George Turner Tim
Training: Drama Centre London.
Theatre: Dancing at Lughnasa (National Theatre) The Coast of Utopia (Pleasance Theatre) Salomé (Southwark Playhouse) The Lady Vanishes (Theatre Royal Brighton and UK Tour) Vinegar Tom (Arcola Theatre) Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing (New Diorama Theatre) Father in Metamorphosis (Seven Dials Playhouse) The Lady Vanishes (Theatre Royal Windsor) Mercutio in Romeo & Juliet (Brighton Open Air Theatre and UK Tour) Cassius in Julius Caesar (Cockpit Theatre) Maxwell in Time For Tea (Southwark Playhouse) David Powell in Find Your Way Home (Etcetera Theatre) Eilert Lovborg in Hedda Garbler (Gatehouse Theatre) Adam in Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me (Bridewell Theatre) Peter in After The Dance (Gatehouse Theatre) Tom in The Accrington Pals (Bridewell Theatre) The Wind in the Willows (Kew Gardens and UK Tour) Ivanov (Boris Schukin Theatre, Moscow).
Television: Josh in Peckham Mix (Amazon Studios) Borrowed Time (Raw TV).
Film: Milked (Pulse Films Ltd) Our Sons (Film Tank Ltd) Gardens At Sunset (British Film Festival) Park Life (Blue Magma Ltd) Masks (Grapevine Films) Begotten (Pyramid Films) Saved (Driftwood Films).
Lenny Wood Carl
Lenny is delighted to be back at the Royal court. Starting out as a comedian as part of the duo “Lenny and his father friend Mick”, he toured the UK and US. He has since gone on to work extensively in TV and theatre.
Theatre credits include: Lost Soul, Stags And Hens, On The Ledge, Nightcollar, A Nightmare On Lime Street, Lost Soul 2, Speedo Mick The Musical, Romeo And Juliet, The Peaceful Hour, The Scouse Christmas Carol, A Fistfull Of Collars, You’ll Never Walk Alone, The Salon, Little Shop Of Horrors, Bright Pheonix, Down Our Street, A Midsummer Nights Dream, Life, Dreaming Of A Barry White Christmas, The Brickie, Macbeth, The Mole, The Ragged Trousered Philanthrepist, A Christmas Carol, A Day In The Life Of Mr Lanson, Happy As Pie, Waiting For Godot, Terriers, Cheer Up, The Chitz, The Audition, The Suicide and more.
TV and film include: Birthday Boy, Under The Mud, Saffron, Northern Cowboys, Violet City, The Be All And End All, Anne, The Responder, Dead Mans Cards, Dont Worry About Me, Being Eileen, Good Cop, The Sinking Of The Laconia, Stolen among others.
Lenny is also an RTS award winning documentary maker and has also starred in various commercials with the likes of Cadbury’s and McDonald’s.
For Stocksy. X
Company Biographies
Gerry Linford Writer
Since making his debut at the Royal Court with the acclaimed comedy drama Miracle of Great Homer Street in 2018, Gerry has become a regular here. Plays such as Ellen & Rigby, Yellow Breck Road, The Menlove Avenue Murder Mystery, Macca & Beth, Haunted Scouse and The Peaceful Hour have proven to be big hits with critics and audiences alike.
In addition to his theatre work Gerry is also the writer of the award winning BBC Wales film Buddha Boy and the author of a short story collection Where Will You Go When You Can’t Go There?. Married with five daughters, Gerry is also a Senior Lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire.
Emma Bird Director
Emma has directed critically acclaimed productions at Brighton, Manchester and Liverpool Fringe Festivals. Notable recent productions are New Dawn Fades: A Play about Joy Division and Manchester by Brian Gorman, (Dancehouse Theatre, Manchester 2018); King of the World by Brian Coyle (Liverpool & Manchester Fringe Festivals, 2018); Two by Jim Cartwright (Manchester Fringe Festival 2018); Bleeding with Mother by Sarah Cassidy (53Two, Manchester 2017); We Apologise for the Inconvenience by Mark Griffiths, (3MT, Manchester, 2017); A Passion for Rationals (Sara Harris, Brighton Fringe Festival 2014); Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo; Hey Bunny Get Loose and Stocking Fillers (Liverpool’s Royal Court Studio); Haunted Scouse and The Peaceful Hour (Liverpool’s Royal Court).
Emma began her acting career in 1990. Featuring in a lead role alongside Pete Postlethwaite, in BBC screenplay, Needle. Written by Jimmy McGovern and directed by Gillies MacKinnon. She was series regular Maxine Price in Casualty (1992). Short films and features followed through her work with director Sandra Goldbacher in Seventeen (with Rachel Weisz, 1996), Piccadilly Circus by Night and The Governess (with Minnie Driver, 1997).
Notable theatre work includes The Good Hope alongside Frances de la Tour at The Royal National Theatre and UK tour, (2002); David Mamet’s Oleanna (Norwich Playhouse) and The Woods (The Finborough Theatre); Educating Rita (Norwich Playhouse) and Terms of Abuse (Hampstead Theatre).
Emma founded Liverpool Comedy Improv in 2015 teaching improvisation to all. www.liverpoolcomedyimprov.co.uk
Chris McCourt Set & Costume Designer
Christopher is a forward-thinking and inventive designer based in Liverpool. He trained at LIPA and has a strong passion for creating fresh, innovative work and exploring new approaches to design.
His professional credits include It’s A Wonderful Life (St Georges Hall & Liverpool’s Royal Court, Studio). Come Together, The Peaceful Hour (Liverpool’s Royal Court). The Independent Socialist Republic of The Upper End of The Lower Breck Road (Liverpool’s Royal Court, Studio). Elves & The Shoemaker (Dukes Theatre Lancaster & Northwest Tour). Shrek The Musical Jr (The Empty Space, Media City). Cosmic (Liverpool’s Royal Court, Studio). Run Rabbit Run (Harrogate Theatre). A Day In The Life Of Us (Theatr Twim o’r Nant, North Wales). Aladdin Jr (The Empty Space, Media City). Hey Bunny, Get Loose! (Liverpool Royal Court, Studio). The Circus (Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, Playhouse Studio). Stepping Out (Merseyside Academy of Drama, Hope Street Theatre). Ageless (National Theatre Connections, The Lowry).
Ian Scott
Lighting Designer
Trained at Mountview.
Productions for the Royal Court include: Scouse Pacific, Maggie May, The Miracle of Great Homer Street, The Royal, The Scouse Nativity, Lonesome West, Down The Dock Road, Come Together, Two Of Us, Haunted Scouse, Boys From The Blackstuff, Red Or Dead and in co-production with Lodestar and the Liverpool Shakespeare Festival; Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Other theatre credits include: Much Ado About Nothing (Sheffield Crucible and Ramps On The Moon); ¡Carpa!, The Hooley and Xanadu (Giffords Circus); By The Waters of Liverpool (Pulse Records); Up ‘n’ Under and Frozen (fingersmiths); Reasons To Be Cheerful, Peeling and Blasted (Graeae); Duet for One (Birmingham Rep; Lee Dean & Daniel Schumann); A Skull in Connemara and All My Sons (Nottingham Playhouse); Marco Polo and Messiah (Bergen National Opera); Fish Eye (Theatre Alibi); The Solid Life of Sugar Water (Graeae; Theatre Royal, Plymouth; National Theatre); Owen Wingrave and Where The Wild Things Are (Aldeburgh Festival); Fawlty Towers Live (Roslyn Packer Theatre, Sydney); Flat Stanley (Polka; West Yorkshire Playhouse); The Drummer Boy of Waterloo and The Happy Prince (Jubilee Opera); The 39 Steps (Criterion Theatre); Our Friends Up North (Northern Stage); The Joke, The Summer House and The Victorian in the Wall (Will Adamsdale; Fuel); My Name is… (Tamasha); Oh! What a Lovely War and Frogs (National Theatre); Curlew River (White Light Festival, New York; UCLA
Company Biographies
Berkeley; St. Giles, Barbican); Animal Farm (West Yorkshire Playhouse) and Observe The Sons Of Ulster Marching Towards The Somme (Abbey Theatre, Dublin).
Kate Harvey Sound Designer
A list of sound credits include: Corporate/Outdoor: Labour, Conservative, NUT, TUC. Symphony in the Park (Hoghton Tower) Liverpool Theatre Festival (Bill Elms Productions), Grimm Tales, Jungle Book, 80 Days Around the World, Alice in Wonderland (Williamson Park, Lancaster)
TV: Stan James World Match Dartsplay (Sky Sports), Strictly Ballroom (ITV), Danny La Rue (BBC) Spirit of Shankly (Granada DVD)
Cruises: P&O World Cruises, Island Cruises, Celebrity. Arena: Hot Ice (Stageworks Worldwide Productions) You’ll Never Walk Alone (Alterean Media and Liverpool FC)
Music: The Christians, Chesney Hawkes, Sinita, Slade, Bad Manners, Toyah, Limahl, Cream UK Tour, Petula Clarke, Bobby Crush, East 17, Liberty X, Jane McDonald. Comedy: Jason Mansford, Peter Kay, Roy Walker, Norman Wisdom, Jim Bowen, Brian Conley, Brendan O’Carroll, Paddy McGuiness.
Live Theatre: Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty (King Georges Hall) Mystique (Stageworks) Original TV Comedians (Blackpool Opera House) Paul Zerdin (Paradise Room Blackpool) Flags (Royal Exchange, Manchester) Mam I’m Ere (Life in Theatre) Eight Miles High, Council Depot Blues, Bouncers, Night Collar, Our Day Out, Shirley Valentine, Reds and Blues, Lennon, Noises Off, Canoeing for Beginners, Lost Soul 1&2, Girls Don’t Play Guitars, Golden Oldies, Come Together, Vernons Girls, Red Or Dead (Royal Court Liverpool) Twopence to cross the Mersey, Lennons Banjo and By The Waters of Liverpool (Pulse Records) SHOUT! (Max Emmerson Productions) Out of Order and It runs in the family (Ray Cooney Comedy Company) Bang Bang (A production for John Cleese at Mercury Theatre, Colchester) Omnibus (Unity Theatre) Judy and Liza National Tour (Produced by Royal Court Liverpool) Midsummer Nights Dream (Filter Theatre Company/ Lyric Hammersmith) Homebaked (Red Ladder Theatre Company) Something about George (Something About Productions) Insane Animals (HOME MCR) Cinderella (Imagine Theatre, Beck Theatre-Hayes) Beauty and the Beast, Robin Hood, A Christmas Carol (Dukes Playhouse, Lancaster) Cinderella (Imagine Theatre, Crewe Lyceum).
Jamie Jenkin AV Designer
Jamie is the in-house graphic and video designer at Liverpool’s Royal Court. Starting as marketing assistant at the theatre in 2005, he has been part of the Royal Court since it’s rebirth as a theatre in 2006. He now designs artwork for all Royal Court productions alongside working on video content for the Royal Court stage and beyond.
Video Designs for Theatre include:
Alan Bleasdale’s Boys From The Blackstuff by James Graham (Liverpool’s Royal Court, National Theatre and Garrick Theatre London), A Thong For Europe, Willy Russell’s Our Day Out - The Musical, A Fistful Of Collars, Lennon, Ladies Day, Hitchhikers Guide to Fazakerley, Ladies Night, Canoeing for Beginners, The Scouse Nativity, Father O’Flaherty Saves Our Souls, A Miracle On Great Homer Street, Home, Going Halves, The Royal, The Scouse Cinderella, My Fairfield Lady, Bingo Star, Two Of Us, Royal Court Selection Box, Macca & Beth, The Scouse Sleeping Beauty, The Menlove Avenue Murder Mystery, The Scousetrap, The Scouse Jack & The Beanstalk, The Scouse Dick Whittington, Haunted Scouse, Sisters Of Mersey, The Netherely Hillbillies, Haunted Scouse, Come Together, Girls Don’t Play Guitars, The Scouse Red Riding Hood, The Peaceful Hour and Red Or Dead (Liverpool’s Royal Court); Masquerade, Knee Deep In Promises, Hey Bunny Get Loose, Stocking Fillers, Cosmic and Pass The Parcel (Liverpool’s Royal Court Studio); Cured (Liverpool’s Royal Court in association with DaDaFest & Unlimited); The Dream Team and VR Family (Liverpool’s Royal Court Youth Theatre); Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Liverpool Shakespeare Festival); Judy & Liza (National Tour); YNWA (Alterean Productions, international tour); The Big I Am (Liverpool Everyman); Celtic The Musical (Alterean Productions, Pavilion Theatre Glasgow and SEC Glasgow); Sunderland The Musical (Alterean Productions, Empire Theatre Sunderland); Something About George (Something About Productions, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and national tour); The Salford Docker (Salford Community Theatre, Lighthouse Salford); Our Country’s Good (Hope St Theatre); and Peter Pan (Storyhouse Chester). Jamie was also Sound Designer on Hey Bunny Get Loose, Offered Up, Stocking Fillers and Cosmic (Liverpool’s Royal Court Studio) and Our Country’s Good (Hope St Theatre).
Company Biographies
Beverly Norris-Edmunds Movement Director
For the Royal Court: The Vernons Girls,Thong for Europe, Scouse Trap, YNWA, Scouse Sleeping Beauty, Selection Box, Maggie May, Scouse Snow White, Girls Don’t Play Guitars, Scouse Pacific, Lost Soul 2, Scouse Nativity, Golden Oldies, The Royal, Father O’Flaherty Saves Our Souls, Sex in Suburbia, Canoeing for Beginners, Bouncers, Special Measures, Our Day Out The Musical by Willy Russell (premiered 2009 and 2010), Ladies Night, Good Golly Miss Molly, You’ll Never Walk Alone, Dirty Dustin’, Nightmare on Lime Street, Little Scouse on the Prairie, Brick up the Mersey Tunnels 1 and 2, Merry Ding Dong, Slappers and Slap Heads and Reds ‘n’ Blues.
Recent choreography includes: One Man Two Guvnor’s, A Leap in the Dark, The Nutcracker, Astley’s Astounding Adventures, The Card ( New Vic Theatre), The Great Gatsby and Pride and Prejudice (Story house Chester)
Other Choreography includes: Marvelous (Soho Place London and New Vic Theatre), Tom Dick and Harry ( Alexandre Palace London and New Vic Theatre), The Worst Witch - Olivier Award winner 2020 for Best Family Show, (Vaudeville Theatre West End, UK Tour and Royal and Derngate Theatre Northampton), Around the World in 80 Days premiered at The New Victory Theatre on Broadway New York after It’s UK Tour starting at The New Vic Theatre (Newcastle -under-Lyme).
Over 50 productions for The New Vic. Including: Alice in Wonderland, The 39 Steps, The Borrowers, Coppellia A Mystery, Sweeney Todd, Oliver and Amadeus.
For Northern Broadsides and Touring: Hard Times, For Love or Money, Loves Labours Lost, Much Ado about Nothing and Cyrano (co-production with New Vic)
Oldham Coliseum: Over 50 Productions including, Oh What A Lovely War, Chicago (MEN Theatre Award Winner for Best Ensemble) Stepping Out, Sweet Charity, Laurel and Hardy, Blues in the Night, From a Jack to a King Touring credits include: Return To The Forbidden Planet, Carmen
TV credits include: Disney’s The Evermoor Chronicles, Coronation Street, Hollyoaks, CBeebie’s The Magic Door, Butterfly, Sunny D, Fernando Torres Nike Commercial, September Song, Brookside and the feature film O Jerusalem Beverley has also choreographed numerous productions for The Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse theatres, Bolton Octagon, Hull Truck Theatre, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Birmingham Rep, Liverpool Empire Theatre, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Stephen Joseph Theatre Scarborough, Haymarket Theatre Basingstoke, Harrogate Theatre,
New Perspective Theatre company, Claybody Theatre Company, Imaginarium Theatre Company and for the award winning Tmesis
Kaitlin Howard Fight Director
Kaitlin teaches Stage Combat and Intimacy at Manchester School of Theatre, MetFilm Leeds and Rose Bruford Wigan, is a teaching and examining member of The Academy of Performance Combat and one of only three women on the Equity Register of Fight Directors.
Fight Direction includes:
For Liverpool’s Royal Court: The Netherley Hillbillies, The Peaceful Hour
Theatre: Macbeth (RSC); Anastasia The Musical (Det Ny Teater, Copenhagen); Macbeth (an undoing) (Theatre for a New Audience, New York); Single White Female (JAS Theatricals, UK Tour); Sweat, A Taste of Honey (The Royal Exchange, Manchester); The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Gangs of New York, Beauty & The Beast, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Romeo & Juliet, The Snow Queen, Faustus: That Damned Woman, The Great Gatsby (Storyhouse, Chester); Around the World in 80 Days, The Jungle Book, Robin Hood (The Dukes, Lancaster); Jeeves & Worcester, The 39 Steps (Salisbury Playhouse); Habibti Driver, The Jungle Book (Bolton Octagon); Noises Off, The Whitby Rebels, Comedy of Errors (more or less), Love’s Labour’s Lost (more or less), Dracula: The Bloody Truth (Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough); Life is A Dream, The Scent of Roses (Edinburgh Lyceum); Red Ellen (Northern Stage); Constellations, The Famous Five, Robin Hood, Sleeping Beauty (Theatr Clwyd); Lucrezia Borgia, I Capuleti e I Montecchi, The Rape of Lucretia (English Touring Opera); A Skull In Connemara, Jack & The Beanstalk, Aladdin, Robin Hood (Oldham Coliseum); Tom, Dick & Harry (The New Vic, Stoke-On-Trent); The Chester Mystery Plays 2023 (Chester Cathedral); Guards at The Taj, The Jungle Book (Theatre By The Lake, Keswick); Frankenstein (Tilted Wig Productions); Singin’ In The Rain, 42nd Street (Kilworth House Theatre); The Girl on The Train, The True Adventures of Marian & Robin Hood (Barn, Cirencester); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Our Country’s Good (The Tobacco Factory, Bristol); Robin Hood, The Doncastrian Chalk Circle (Cast, Doncaster); The Little Mermaid, Cherry Jezebel (Liverpool Everyman); The Comedy of Errors (Greenwich Playhouse); Killer Joe (The Pleasance Theatre, London); Dancing at Lughnasa (Sheffield Crucible); Tosca (Clonter Opera); The Void (Thunder Road Theatre); Elmet (Javaad Alipoor Productions).
Film & TV: The Jury: Murder Trial Series 2 (Channel 4/ ScreenDog Productions); So Awkward (CBBC); Crimewatch (BBC); Blank... (KenMor Films); Zero Hours (Mordecai Films); Unwanted (Rumley Productions).
Company Biographies
Website: www.kaitlin-howard.co.uk X: @KaitlinJHoward
Instagram: kaitlinhowardfightdirector
Marie Jones
Wardrobe Supervisor
Marie studied fashion and then moved on to theatre costume interpretation at Mabel Fletcher College. Marie’s work as a freelance costumier has included costumes for Oldham Coliseum, The Royal Exchange, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Jimmy McGovern’s film Liam, Beyond Friendship for Mersey Television and the many pantomime dames who have appeared on the Everyman stage.
She has worked extensively at the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and has recently been employed as full time Wardrobe Supervisor at the Royal Court. Most recently Marie’s work at the Everyman and Playhouse has included: Much Ado About Nothing, The Electric Hills, The Flint Street Nativity, The Tempest, Unprotected, Billy Liar, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfe, Urban Legend, Fly, Breezeblock Park, The Entertainer, Still Life And The Astonished Heart, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Anniversary, Dr Faustus, The May Queen, Cruel Sea and All My Sons
Marie’s other credits include: Brick Up The Mersey Tunnels, Lost Soul, Good Golly Miss Molly, Stags and Hens - The Remix, On The Ledge, Misery, Eight Miles High, Council Depot Blues, Night Collar, Dirty Dusting, Shirley Valentine, Our Day Out - The Musical, The Salon, Funny Money, Merry Ding Dong, A Fistul Of Collars, Lucky Numbers, Lennon, Scouse Pacific, You’ll Never Walk Alone, Little Scouse on the Prairie, Reds And Blues - The Musical, Ladies Day, Bouncers, Scouse Of The Antarctic, Pharaoh ‘Cross The Mersey and Down The Dock Road for Royal Court Liverpool, Brouhaha International Street Festival, Working Class Hero on the recent Imagine DVD, Costume Supervisor for many shows at LIPA, The Splash Project at MYPT and Twopence To Cross The Mersey at the Liverpool Empire.
BY ADAM McCOY
Royal Court Staff
Executive Producer Kevin Fearon
Chief Executive Gillian Miller
Head of Finance & Administration Gary O’Connor
Head of Producing & Programming Jess Bolger
Head of Marketing Kofi Ohene-Djan
Head of Operations Ailsa Morris
Executive Chef David Assall
HR & Finance Manager Alison Ward
Graphic Designer & Brand Manager Jamie Jenkin
Producer Clare Carlucci
Marketing Managers Iain Christie and Lily Hagan
Workshop Manager John Kavanagh
Social Media Manager Clara Mbirimi
Head of Technical & Production Sean Gannon
Technical Manager Dan Taylor
Deputy Technical Manager Phil Dickinson
Head of Lighting Jimmi Richardson
Lighting Technician Holly Freeman
Senior Sound Technician Danny Haydock
Senior Stage Technician Mark Ellis
Scenic Art Manager Jen Baron
Box Office & Sales Manager Lauren Macauley
Assistant Box Office Manager Laura Lees
Head of Community Engagement Miriam Mussa
Head of Wardrobe Mitch Fujii-Williams
Wardrobe Supervisor Marie Jones
Finance Administrator Marie Williams
Finance & Payroll Assistant Izzie Litwin
Venue Administrator Phil McLoughlin
Assistant Producer - Talent Development Harvey Robinson
Stores & Maintenace Technician Gary Currin
HR Administrator Nichola Brady
Executive Assistant Joe Morris
Building Maintenance Technician Bob Smith
Box Office Assistants
Erica Drummond, Finn Goulden-Jennings, Carl Lees, Scarlet Lees, Anna Miller, Pat O’Neill, Susan Segar, and Angela Simms
Fire Officer Sam Massen
Stage Door Julia D’Arcy, Allan Dodd, Sven Key and Izzie Litwin
Kitchen
Chefs Thomas Alexander, Maciej Gumieniuk, Keane Pritchard, Jay Quinn and Jack While
Kitchen Porters Hezekiah Abramson, Dillion Bagley, Billie Chisam, Louise Dodd, Ezhra Hayden, Harry Lawlor, Emmeline Linforth, Harrison McLaughlin, Dean Robinson, Azeema Sheriff, Luke Sweeney and Lewis While
Front Of House
FOH Manager Kathy Hutson
Assistant FOH Manager Paul Imrie and Brendon Wright
FOH Supervisors Jordan Barkley, Sammie Hunter and Katie Sherman
Café 38 Supervisor Beth Baccino
Front of House Staff Kane Bagnall, Hazel Bawden, Rhianna Beesley, Cameron Brown, Mustafa Bshaena, Sam Byrne, Louis Carney-Smith, Emily Cook, John Donachie-Ashcroft, Summer Duckworth, Holly Evans, Charlotte Freyne, Lily Hutson, Michael James, Callum Johnstone, Thomas Kent, Raia Kiernan, Jackie Kirton, Abby Livingstone, Phil Lyne, Sahara Makavitage, Sam Massen, Lukas Matuzevicius, Amy McCormick, Faye McCutcheon, Joseph McGee, Joseph O’Neill, Niamh Powers, Anila Rais, Isabella Renshaw, Aaron Scarth, Theo Stock-Best, Aiva Tambourini, Ben Verdin, Ellie Weaver, Mohan Welstand-Keryk, Ellie Wilcox, Abbie Williams and Samantha Woolley.
Cleaning & KP Supervisor Debbie Chisam
Cleaners Joanne Kinsella, Claire Wilson and Julie Wright.
And a big thank you to all of our freelance and security staff for their hard work throughout the year.
