Liverpool Theatre Festival has today revealed the exciting line-up of shows set to be premiered at Little LTF when it returns to Liverpool city centre next month.

The second annual Little LTF will be staged at St Luke’s (Bombed Out) Church from Tuesday 3 May to Sunday 8 May 2022.

The festival, a sister event to the main Liverpool Theatre Festival which returns this August for the third year, was founded by award-winning Liverpool theatre producer Bill Elms and is dedicated to nurturing up-and-coming talent and showcasing new works for the first time.

A total of 12 new productions will be premiered over six days in an intimate marquee setting at St Luke’s Church.

The new productions were chosen from more than 30 entries by a panel of industry professionals. Media and industry professionals will be invited to see the shows first-hand at the festival and accolades will also be given to outstanding productions in specific categories.

The 2022 festival opens on Tuesday 3 May with Megan Hindley and Beth Amos’ murder-mystery comedy ‘Not Drunk But Disorderly’, followed on Wednesday 4 May with ‘Grandmother’, a heart-warming musical play by Asa Murphy.

It continues on Thursday 5 May with comedy ‘Keeping Mum’, written by Karl Voden, and Mark Heller’s drama ‘Killing Mice’, while on Friday 6 May festivalgoers can enjoy Paul Daley’s saucy, warm-hearted romantic comedy ‘It Must Be Love’, being brought to the stage by Pampas Plays, and get up close and personal with the star of Angie Waller and Claire Jones’ cabaret show ‘An Evening With Nana Funk’.

A busy weekend of shows opens on Saturday 7 May with ‘Murder, Mayhem and Magic’, a children’s show from Kate Allerston and A Place for Us CIC Theatre, followed by drama ‘Around the World in 72 Days: The Story of Nellie Bly’ by writer Rebekah McLoughlin and presented by Crew of Patches Theatre Company, and ‘Sh*t Faced Santa’, an outrageous festive comedy by All Day Breakfast Theatre Company.

And the festival concludes on Sunday 8 May with writer and director Victoria Evaristo’s disability arts drama ‘Just Aretha’, Rebecca Casey and company’s musical theatre extravaganza ‘Bigger Than Broadway’, and powerful Hillsborough play ’97+’ by Tom Cain.

The selection panel was made up of LTF Festival director Bill Elms; theatre director and producer James Baker; Francesca Peschier, head of new works at Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse; arts marketing professional Anthony Proctor; freelance arts consultant Sue Williams and national theatre booker David Fry.

Producer and artistic director Bill, who recently won the title of COVID-19 Creative Response (Individual) at the Liverpool City Region Culture and Creativity Awards, says: “When we launched Little LTF last year, we were overwhelmed by the response both from creatives and from our audiences who flocked to see the fantastic range of new work staged at the Bombed-Out Church.

“That has continued this year with an incredibly high standard of submissions across the board. The ambition, creativity and talent on show means the panel has had a really tough time choosing just 12 shows to premiere at next month’s festival.

“I can’t wait to see them staged for the first time and I know our audiences are going to be just as inspired and entertained by what they see.”

Genres represented in the diverse and inclusive programme include cabaret, comedy, disability arts, drama, family entertainment, LGBTQ and musical theatre.

Shows run between 50 minutes and 75 minutes (see individual show listings on the website), and there are no intervals. The festival will adhere to any COVID-19 guidelines required at the time.

Tickets for all the shows are on sale now at www.liverpooltheatrefestival.com

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