Everyman Theatre Liverpool

The Liverpool Everyman on Hope Street is one of the most important regional theatres in England, with a history of producing work that goes beyond its geographic context and a reputation for developing new writing that has been central to British theatre for fifty years. The current building opened in 2014 following a major redevelopment and won the RIBA Stirling Prize, which confirmed architectural ambitions as well as theatrical ones.

The Everyman was where Alan Bleasdale, Willy Russell, and a generation of Liverpool playwrights developed their early work, and the theatre has maintained that commitment to new writing and to the specific voice of Liverpool across decades. The main house seats around 400 and the studio space provides a room for more experimental work and emerging artists. The bistro below the main auditorium is a Liverpool social institution in itself.

The Everyman is a building that Liverpool is visibly proud of, and the pride is justified. The 2014 rebuild preserved and extended everything that made the original important while creating a physical statement about what theatre buildings can be. Hope Street has the Philharmonic Hall at one end and the Everyman at the other – that pairing says something significant about Liverpool’s cultural ambition.