John Moores Drama Department present a new theatrical festival for Liverpool which promises to showcase the best and brightest talent Liverpool John Moores University Drama has to offer.

Overload is a theatrical festival that places eight shows, with 20 performances, into four venues across Liverpool in the space of just under four weeks! Overload is a spectrum of performances from high-energy physical theatre to musical theatre, from published plays to new and original works.

The Festival will run from the 18th March – 11th April 2014 opening at Blade Factory with Mercury Fur (18^th– 19^th) by Philip Ridley; as the sun goes down the party spirals out of control for two brothers and they realise the success of the evening will not just safeguard their security, but their very existence depends on it.

Locks (Upper Gym, 25^th– 26^th) -set in the Deep South, this new play explores sexuality and status in a women’s prison.

Forget-Me-Not (Joe H. Makin Theatre, 28^th– 29^th) – in the castle of the Kingdom of Wales there is no place for fantasy but we can all dream. A musical tale of love lost and gained in a struggle for power.

Memoirs Of A Killer (Joe H. Makin Theatre, 1^st– 2^nd) ­– Six souls linger in Limbo awaiting the judgement of one Levi Bellfield. Let us delve deep into the minds of one of Britain’s most notorious killers and his victims. This piece of physical theatre unearths his otherworldly dark fantasies and reveals the deluded reality he created for himself and the souls in his path. ‘Let the judgement commence…’

Bryony Lavery’s Beautiful Burnout (Upper Gym, 4^th – 5^th) isa thrilling piece of highly physical theatre that immerses the audience in the explosive world of boxing.

The C-Word (Joe H. Makin Theatre, 6^th– 7^th)  is a unique experience that challenges audience perceptions of cancer. A visually striking yet emotive piece of verbatim theatre.

Wasting Efforts (Haus, 9^th – 10^th)  sees wasted people and the waste of the world. A story of a society gone too far –a generation lost to the scrapheap.

Overload Festival finally closes at the Joe H. Makin Theatre with Covers Up (10^th– 11^th) – developed by John Moores’ own third year student Gemma Oliver this new show explores; couples, conversations and covers and Exams relationships, one bed at a time; new love, old love, lost love, true love, loyal love, no love.

For more information and ticket prices visit thier Facebook page (/OverloadFest2014) & Twitter (@Overload2014).

FLIPSIDE FESTIVAL

Running alongside Overload throughout is the Flip Side Fest –an alternative festival that takes theatre out of the theatre. From the 17th March right up until the 28th March there are over 30 performances, which consist of not only scripted plays but also new contemporary drama executed in unusual spaces.

The Grand opening of Flipside is on Monday 17th March to find out what’s on, so you can join in and experience some new theatre.

You can always find out more about the festival on their social media sites;

Facebook – /flipsidefestival2014 &

Twitter – @flipfest2014