A few years' ago, I saw a stage adaptation of another Helen Forrester novel, 'Twopence To Cross The Mersey', produced by the same team responsible for this show. What I did not realise however, was that this play, 'By The Waters Of Liverpool', starts (more or less) where the other one finished.
We are in Liverpool (of course), and this story takes us through the years 1938 to the middle of the second world war, and our protagonist, the diminutive Helen Forrester, is once again telling her own story. It is a story of hardship and deprivation, but also one of great hope and belief in the human spirit.
As before, the set is a backdrop of the more famous and iconic buildings of the Liverpool skyline, and a few brown and unkempt house flats for either side of the forestage. The format, and adaptation is exactly the same; a curious mixture of narration and the acting of little vignettes. The characters introduce themselves (including what they are wearing etc) before they speak, and the vignettes could easily be performed on their own and in any order; some are funnier than others, but all rely on caricature rather than character to tell their story. It is a very odd piece of theatre, since it is neither a play nor a lecture, and because of this, it is impossible to sympathise with and relate to the characters on stage in a way that one would normally do when watching a play. This was essentially a story being narrated in costume with a bit of comedy thrown in for good measure.
Admittedly, this was a more proficient and more mature production than 'Twopence' was, but there is still a long way to go yet before it becomes the truly riveting and emotional rollercoaster that the real story of her life clearly was. This I lay at the feet of the writer / adapter. That being said however, it still does have an undisputed appeal, especially to those of a certain generation. Those who have read the Forrester books in their youth, or have a personal connection to Liverpool at the time this novel is set. And, more importantly, for me at least, I did learn something very important from this play this evening; namely that Jews in England were prejudiced against and had their shop windows broken etc; due in no small part to Mosley and his Blackshirts. I had, however, been completely ignorant of this until this evening.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 22.9.23
on - 22.9.23
The reviewer thought it was based on a ‘novel’; it is based on Helen Forrester’s autobiography and the characters within are actually real. ✌️
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