IN THE world of British theatre, Liverpool has always had a leading role. It has also been very varied.
In castles in Liverpool and West Derby they were putting on entertainment even before the 1066 invasion and by the 16th Century Liverpool had its own theatres.
In more recent history the city has presented big shows at the Empire and Royal Court Theatres, ground-breaking repertory at the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, leading fringe shows at the Unity Theatre and some oddities at unusual locations including clubs and bars.
The 2008 season will be building on that history and then some.
As you will read in this supplement, there is going to be a lot of new writing for theatre, most of it by local writers.
That was always one of the city's theatrical strengths, particularly at the Everyman Theatre which first opened in 1964 and continues until this day.
Plays like The Foursome by Ted Whitehead - and set on Formby beach - Under New Management by Chris Bond (about Fisher Bendix in Kirby) and John, Paul, George, Ringo and Bert by Willy Russell (the Beatles' story)) earned the city's theatre national attention.
Alan Bleasdale was writing at the Playhouse in its well-used studio and the Royal Court was testing out dramas on their way to London.
At the Unity, new writers like Frank Clarke were penning dramas like Letter to Brezhnev, later to become a successful movie, while leading dance and opera companies tried out new works at the Empire and Royal Court.
It is good to see that the 2008 events will continue this tradition and the theatres will concentrate heavily
Daily Post Arts Editor on new writing, and rightly so.
