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Life at The Little Theatre column: Andrew makes his return with 'Swan Song'

Read the latest from the Southport Little Theatre.

Trudi Hirsch and Helen Pritchard in Handbagged (picture: Graham Fletcher-Hill)

By Andrew Sloman and Jennifer Corcoran

We recently announced the return of live performance to the Little Theatre with Fame, The Musical scheduled for August.

We now have some exciting news about another production coming to the theatre in July – a professional one-man show featuring well-known TV and stage actor, SDC alumni and longstanding friend of the club Andrew Lancel.

Fresh from its sell-out premiere at Liverpool Theatre Festival comes Swan Song, a bittersweet comedy written by multi award-winning Jonathan Harvey.

The shows stars is directed by BAFTA award winner Noreen Kershaw.

It is Liverpool in 1997, the world is changing and in the staff room gay forty-something English teacher Dave Titswell finds that not all change is welcome.

He has a crush, but life, love, and work are never straightforward for Dave. Will a school trip to The Lakes change things for the better, or make things decidedly worse? Swan Song will make audiences laugh, but equally pull at the heartstrings. Everyone knows someone like Dave – or could even be a Dave themselves.

Swan Song was first staged at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1997, before transferring to Hampstead Theatre with award-winning comedy actress Rebecca Front in the lead role.

Jonathan Harvey adapted the 70-minute play specially for Liverpool Theatre Festival for Andrew Lancel to play the solo role of Dave Titswel.

Swan Song will appear for one night only on Monday, July 5. Tickets are on sale here.

We’re delighted the team elected to bring Swan Song to Southport, we hope you vote with your feet and make it a big hit.

Today is local election day and these are ever turbulent times, with swirling scandals with big decisions constantly to be made to make sure we have a safe and secure future.

Simon Armstrong, Les Gomersall and Peter Forshaw in Yes Prime Minister (picture: Graham Fletcher-Hill)

Politics is always fertile ground for on stage drama too; Southport Dramatic Club have done their fair share of politically themed plays. Most recently there was the 2018 production of Letter of Resignation – with John Sharp in the lead role – the thoughtful exploration of Harold Macmillan’s reaction to the breaking of the Profumo affair, set against the backdrop of his own personal family drama.

We also brought the delightful comedy, Yes Prime Minister in 2015, pitting PM Jim Hacker, played by Simon Armstrong, against his ever slippery Permanent Secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby and the hapless Sir Bernard Woolley, played by Les Gomersall and Peter Forshaw.

Politicians featured in other recent SDC productions; Rikki Spofforth played an out-of-his-depth Southport MP in 2017’s Rumours and of course the wonderful Handbagged which explored the relationship and tensions between two formidable women, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Margaret Thatcher – the iron lady played by both Trudi Hirsch and Helen Pritchard.

Life at The Little Theatre column: Andrew makes his return with 'Swan Song'

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