Under the Mersey Moon is the story of a young man’s determination to follow his heart and his dream of becoming a famous singer/songwriter inspired by his grandad who is ailing and needs constant care.
This production, directed by Brian McCann, has been created by Liverpool
songwriters Jimmy Rae and Pete Davies; it features thirteen original songs
which are performed by a cast of twelve talented actors accompanied by a live, on-stage
band.
Danny Rogers (Sam Heller) is a
struggling Liverpudlian musician who embarks on a make-or-break journey to
Nashville, USA encouraged by his country music loving grandad, Harry (Billy
Butler) hoping to be discovered in the challenging world of music.
Samantha Alton plays Louise,
Danny’s long-standing girlfriend who doesn’t share his enthusiasm for his
dreams with Christopher Lee Power as Danny’s dad, (Kenny), Lesley Butler as Carol his mum, and Sarah-Lou
Fletcher as Ellie, with her other half, Mike played by Leslie Longley. Danny’s
would-be love interest in USA is played by Amy White (aka SheBeat), an
established singer-songwriter from Liverpool.
The first half of the show is
rather laboured whilst setting the scene and providing the groundwork for the
background of the story, but the pace quickens as the story gains momentum after
the interval and garners more interest.
The show is interspersed with songs sung mainly by Sam Heller, Samantha
Alton, Sarah-Lou Fletcher, Jodie White, and Adam Johnson. Young Harry is played
by Adam Johnson who appears as a Hank Walters look-alike dressed in a white
suit and white Stetson cowboy hat and is also the lead guitarist in the Mersey
Moon house band.
Catherine Howard appears as
Jackie, grandads Carer and Airport Traveller, Leslie Longley plays Fries Man (as
well as Mike), and Jimmy Rae and Al Peters play drunks; Del Wilden is the Airport
Traveller and the Nashville Bartender.
Whilst the sentiments of the
piece are somewhat endearing, the production’s ethos can come across as rather
cloying, whilst the script is in need of a little attention/tweaking as the
comedy, which is rather hackneyed and uninspired, relies very much on the
humour of well-known recognisable Liverpool axioms which reflect the old-fashioned
type of Liverpudlian humour, much of which has been heard before. The piece
will appeal to mainstream Merseysiders, during the final scenes the video
projection on the backdrop, depicts scenes of yesteryear which many of the
audience would relate to.
It was a full house at the
matinee show with the audience being mostly of the more mature aged theatre-goers. House
band members are Tom Hutchinson (keyboards), Adam Johnson (guitars), Nick
Silver (fiddle), Jimmy Rae (bass guitar) and Howard Northover (drums)
The set was interchangeable as crew
(Ian White and Graham Morphy Morris) moved furniture for each scene, either portraying
Grandad Harry’s living room, Kenny and Carol’s lounge, Louise’s house, The
Mason’s Arms pub, O’Hare Airport, Chicago, a bar on Broadway, Nashville, Ellie
and Mike’s kitchen, Danny’s hotel room and at the close, the Liverpool
waterfront. Coloured spotlights were
used throughout and the Mersey Moon video projected on the backdrop near the
close, was produced by Paul Andrew featuring street photography by Gerard
Fleming.
The song, Under the Mersey Moon,
from which the show gets its name, penned by Jimmy Rae, is a love song to Liverpool
which many will take to their heart, and the show has elements of the hit
production “Twopence to Cross the Mersey” a firm favourite with Merseysiders.
Producers are Jimmy Rae and Sarah
Lou-Fletcher with Stage Manager, Abigail Ramsden.
The show opened on Valentine’s
Day, 14th February and runs until 15th February, tickets
available at https://www.ents24.com/new-brighton-events/floral-pavilion-theatre-and-blue-lounge/under-the-mersey-moon/7297008.
Reviewer – Anne Horne
On – 15th February
2026
