The overwhelming charm of the play comes, of course, from the story behind it. There is a disarming simplicity to the staging, and the use of suggested rather than physical locations for many of the scenes enables the action to progress seamlessly from place to place, unhindered by awkward scene changes. The writing is matched by the strorybook feel of Richard Foxton’s richly painted set designs and by the period detail of the costume, all sumptuously lit by Ian Scott and James Stokes. It is noticeable that in the second act the drama unfolds with more fluidity as the dialogue becomes less stylised and more natural. Whilst this narrative technique certainly offers due deference to the original storytelling of the source novels, it occasionally leads to some awkward shifts in tense and pace. As in both this work’s previous versions and in his sequel, he frequently has his characters describing their own actions as they perform them, and even describing the clothes they themselves are wearing, in addition to having the central character of Helen (here played beautifully by Jenny Murphy) acting as narrator of her own family’s story. This new production is a freshened and tightened version of the original (non-musical) theatrical adaptation and, after this opening run at the Floral Pavilion, it tours a further 14 venues, ending in November at Southport’s Atkinson and Liverpool’s Epstein Theatre.įennah has clearly made a conscious effort to make the theatrical experience feel very much more like reading a book rather than a straight dramatisation. ROB Fennah’s theatrical adaptation of Helen Forrester’s much loved biographical novel Twopence To Cross The Mersey has already seen a transformation into a musical version, and has been followed up by a sequel, By The Waters of Liverpool, which is also embarking on a new tour shortly.

Twopence to cross the mersey 2022