Page 921 - Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Coverage Book 2023-24

Boys from the Blackstuff is currently playing at the Royal Court(Image: Jason
Roberts)
Few cities do culture like Liverpool.

If such a sentiment was ever in doubt, 2023 has well and truly confirmed it.

The city spent the summer basking in the success of its hosting of

Eurovision.

Those two heady weeks in May will live long in the memory of anyone lucky

enough to step foot in Liverpool. Since then, those involved in Merseyside's

music scene have been working hard to ensure the song contest's legacy

benefits those on the ground, making things happen in our region.

Thanks in part to the work of four young men called John, Paul, George and
Ringo, Liverpool will forever be synonymous with music. We are fortunate,

though, that there is so much more to our cultural offering than that.

Today the ECHO awarded five stars to two performances that took place in the

city centre last night. Rebecca Koncienzcy was swept off her feet by the
opening night of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's season,

praising the talents of chief conductor Domingo Hindoyan. At the Royal

Court, James Graham's adaptation of 'Boys from the Blackstuff' rocked the

audience to its core and more than did justice to Alan Bleasdale's seminal TV
series about the struggles of '80s Liverpool.

The play's Scouse cast is on fine form. It is superbly acted, incredibly powerful

while being equally heartbreaking and hilarious. For me, it was theatre at its
very, very best.

At the same time, the Playhouse is playing host to Dave Johns' adaptation of
'I, Daniel Blake', another difficult tale of hardship and unemployment in the

north of England. It is excellent and well worth seeing before it moves to

Durham after the weekend.