Life in Theatre Productions (Mam I’m ‘Ere) will be bringing a slice of The Big Apple to Liverpool this Summer with a double bill of Broadway shows. From the 3rd – 23rd June the award winning romantic comedy, The Last Five Years will be returning to Liverpool and from the 15th August – 7th September theatregoers will be treated to Neil Simon’s critically acclaimed Broadway and West End Vaudeville comedy, The Sunshine Boys.
Both productions are heading to the city’s beautiful Epstein Theatre and, as a Music Hall and Vaudeville stage which is currently in the midst of celebrating its centenary, the Epstein Theatre is the ideal venue for Simon’s comic tour-de-force. With Life in Theatre Productions set to bring the bright lights of Broadway to Liverpool a fantastic double deal is now available where theatre lovers can experience both The Last 5 Years and The Sunshine Boys for just £30.
Regarded as Simon’s masterpiece, The Sunshine Boys centres on fading stars Al Lewis and Willie Clark, known by their stage name “Lewis and Clark”, a one-time Vaudevillian double-act, who, throughout their 40 year career, grew to hate and despise each other and hasn’t spoken since their partnership disbanded. It’s now 1972, in New York City, and C.B.S. invite the comedy duo to be re-united for a nostalgic History of Comedy T.V.-special. Forced together once again, their old rivalry resurfaces and hilarious shenanigans occur as they prepare to take centre stage for one final time.
Life in Theatre Productions also have a very special announcement to make; as Merseyside actors, Andrew “Drew” Schofield and Alan Stocks are set to be The Sunshine Boys with Drew Schofield (in his Neptune/Epstein debut) as Al Lewis; the laid-back, smiling assassin, and Alan Stocks as the cantankerous old clown Willie Clark.
Producer from Life in Theatre Productions Stephen Fletcher says: “We’re presenting a Broadway double bill with musical The Last 5 Years and this play, really. Both are so funny, entertaining, tender, and moving. I want to give people an escape to somewhere as exciting as New York. Both plays offer a rare blend of realism, humour and seriousness which I think audiences will easily identify with. The Epstein is the perfect venue for both shows- intimate enough to draw everyone in with just 400 seats- and there’s such great history to the place- perfect for the link with vaudeville in The Sunshine Boys and just the right size for the intimacy needed for The Last 5 Years. The theatre is so beautiful as well, people need to come and see the improvements since the £1million restoration- and try out Brian’s (Epstein) Bar.”
A familiar face in playhouses across Liverpool, Drew Schofield’s vast theatrical credits including Willy Russell’s original production of Blood Brothers at Liverpool Playhouse and Brick Up The Mersey Tunnels, Lost Soul and On the Ledge, all of which were ran at Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre. Drew is perhaps best known as Francis (Franny) Scully in Alan Bleasdale’s 1984 Granada series Scully. Other credits include Maisie Raine alongside Pauline Quirke, Sharpe with Sean Bean and Murphy’s Law with James Nesbitt and Liverpool-based feature Under the Mud.
The RADA-trained Alan Stocks has appeared in Life in Theatre Productions’ Mam! I’m ‘ere! at The Dome in Christmas 2012/13, also appearing in A Streetcar Named Desire, and Tartuffe at Liverpool Playhouse. Taking the role of the lead protagonist in Robert Farquhar’s Dead Heavy Fantastic at the Everyman last year and is also well known for his regular appearances at Liverpool’s Royal Court. His other theatre credits include The Two Gentlemen of Verona (R.S.C.) and Twelfth Night (Lyric Hammersmith). Alan Stocks T.V. credits include H.B.O.’s Rome and Sky One’s Dream Team.
Drew Schofield, who is taking on the role of Al Lewis said, “This is my third play with ‘Life in Theatre’ company and my first time at the Epstein ,I’m really looking forward to working there with such a brilliant group, and consider it an honour to be a part of them.”
Alan Stocks, who is taking on the role of Willie Clarke said, “What could be better than having the chance to work on a wonderful Neil Simon script and getting to do it with a talented group of friends! I’ve always loved Vaudeville, and this play is a wonderful tribute to a lost art, as well as examining how one generation must inevitably make way for the next…however much they may wish the show could go on.”
The Sunshine Boys is straight from the mind of American playwright and screenwriter, Neil Simon. Generally considered to be one of the greatest writers of American comedy, Neil began his career in the Warner Brothers’ offices in Manhattan before teaming up with his brother, Danny, as writers for radio and television scripts. Simon began writing his own plays shortly after, the first of which was Come Blow Your Horn (1961) which ran on Broadway for 678 performances and followed this success with two more plays: Barefoot in the Park (1963) and The Odd Couple (1965) which won Simon his first Tony Award and projected him to immediate prominence as one of the most popular Broadway writers of his time. Throughout his career he wrote more than 30 plays and over 20 screenplay and has received more Tony Award nominations than any other writer in history.
Tickets for The Last Five Years are available from The Epstein Box office on 0844 8884411 or online at www.epsteinliverpool.co.uk. Tickets are priced at £15 and £20. Tickets for The Sunshine Boys are also priced at £15 and £20 depending on the performance. There is also a double deal where audiences can see plays for £30 on any performance.