Everyman Theatre announces first season for rep company

The Everyman Theatre in Liverpool has announced its first season of shows which will be performed by their rep company.

It was announced earlier this year that the Everyman would host a company of 14 actors, reverting back to its traditional model of repertory theatre where the same troupe of actors will work across all the shows.

The first show in the season will be a production of Joseph Stein, Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock's musical Fiddler on the Roof, directed by the Everyman and Playhouse artistic director Gemma Bodinetz from 17 February to 11 March. The 1964 musical was the longest running Broadway musical for almost ten years.

In March, Nick Bagnall will direct Manfred Karge's The Conquest of the South Pole, a piece which looks at the journey of five young people struggling to live out of work and on benefits. The show runs from 24 March to 8 April.

Poet Brian Patten's The Story Giant, adapted for the stage by Lindsay Rodden, will be revived on the stage in April, to mark the 50th anniversary of The Mersey Sound. Matt Rutter directs the play, which runs between 13 and 29 April, and which brings together four children from different parts of the globe to exchange fairy tales.

In May, Bodinetz will direct Lizzie Nunnery's The Sum, a new play set in Toxteth about a young mother struggling to make ends meet. The show runs from 6 to 20 May.

The Young Everyman Playhouse company will also be a part of the season, with a staging of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, directed by Bagnall, staging it for 21st century audiences.

Bodinetz said: "It is a dream come true to announce this season of work. A dream that we could tell stories the way we want to, for a city that means the world to us. The world changed a lot this year and it's been tough for many but it has also been invigorating."

The actors joining the rep company will be announced in the next few weeks.

The new season at the Playhouse Theatre has also been announced, and includes visiting productions of Gabriel, starring Paul McGann, the Open Air Theatre's production of Pride and Prejudice and performances from Roger McGough and Brian Patten.