The brand new stage production of Helen Forrester’s Twopence To Cross The Mersey is embarking on its first major UK national tour this Autumn.

Twopence To Cross The Mersey UK Premiere Tour 2022 will open on Tuesday 6 September at the New Brighton Floral Pavilion in Wirral and then go on to tour a further 13 venues nationwide through to mid-November.

The tour will visit venues in Rhyl, Stockport, Crewe, St Helens, Blackpool, Warrington, Darlington, Halifax, Croydon, Coventry, Bolton, and Southport, before closing in Liverpool.

The new touring production of Twopence To Cross The Mersey is produced by Rob Fennah and Lynn McDermott for Pulse Records Limited in association with Bill Elms and Directed by Gareth Tudor Price. Full cast to be announced.

About the show – Twopence To Cross The Mersey is a stunning period drama set in the early 1930s in the midst of the Great Depression.

In 1931, Helen’s spendthrift father was declared bankrupt forcing the family to leave behind the nannies, servants, and beautiful middle-class home in the gentler South West of England. With nothing more than the clothes they stood up in, the family of nine took the train to Liverpool where they hoped to rebuild their shattered lives. It came as a terrible shock to find the thriving, wealthy port Helen’s father remembered as a boy, the place his own father made his fortune, had long since gone.

While 12-year-old Helen’s inept parents searched unsuccessfully to find work, she was taken out of school to look after her six younger siblings and the full burden of keeping house fell on Helen’s young shoulders. Having never had to manage a family budget in their previous life, the Forresters found themselves relying on meagre hand-outs from the local parish, charity organisations, and the kindness of strangers.

At the age of 14, Helen had finally had enough of her miserable existence and so began a bitter fight with her mother and father to attend evening school in an effort to educate herself and make her own way in the world. But Helen’s parents had no intention of releasing their unpaid slave. They had other plans for their selfish daughter.

Millions of people around the world know Helen Forrester’s life story told through her best-selling volumes of autobiography, Twopence To Cross The Mersey, Liverpool Miss, By The Waters Of Liverpool, and Lime Street At Two

Helen’s literary achievements were celebrated in 2020 when an iconic Blue Plaque was unveiled at the late author’s family home in Hoylake, a place which featured heavily in her work.

LISTING INFORMATION 

HELEN FORRESTER’S  

TWOPENCE TO CROSS THE MERSEY 

 

FLORAL PAVILION 

Tuesday 6 September – Sunday 11 September 2022 

Marine Promenade, New Brighton, Wirral, CH45 2JS

Website:         www.floralpavilion.com

Box Office:      0151 666 0000

 

RHYL PAVILION 

Wednesday 14 September – Friday 17 September 2022 

East Parade, Rhyl, Denbighshire, LL18 3AQ

Website:         www.rhylpavilion.co.uk

Box Office:      01745 330000

 

STOCKPORT PLAZA 

Monday 19 September – Tuesday 20 September 2022 

Mersey Square, Stockport, SK1 1SP

Website:         www.stockportplaza.co.uk

Box Office:      0161 477 7779

 

CREWE LYCEUM 

Wednesday 21 September – Saturday 24 September 2022 

Heath Street, Crewe, CW1 2DA

Website:         www.crewelyceum.co.uk

Box Office:      0343 310 0050

 

ST HELENS THEATRE ROYAL 

Tuesday 27 September – Saturday 1 October 2022 

Corporation Street, St Helens, WA10 1LQ

Website:         www.sthelenstheatreroyal.com

Box Office:      01744 756000

 

GRAND THEATRE BLACKPOOL 

Tuesday 4 October – Thursday 6 October 2022 

33 Church Street, Blackpool, FY1 1HT

Website:         https://www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk/

Box Office:      01253 290190

 

WARRINGTON PARR HALL 

Saturday 8 October – Sunday 9 October 2022 

Palmyra Square, Warrington, WA1 1BL

Website:         https://parrhall.culturewarrington.org/whats-on

Box Office:      01925 442345

 

DARLINGTON HIPPODROME 

Tuesday 11 October – Wednesday 12 October 2022 

Parkgate, Darlington, DL1 1RR

Website:         www.darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk

Box Office:      01325 405405

 

HALIFAX VICTORIA 

Thursday 13 October – Friday 14 October 2022 

Fountain Street, Halifax, HX1 1BP

Website:         www.victoriatheatre.co.uk

Box Office:      01422 351158

 

CROYDON FAIRFIELD HALLS 

Monday 17 October – Tuesday 18 October 2022 

Park Lane, Croydon, CR9 1DG

Website:         www.bhlivetickets.co.uk

Box Office:      0300 500 0595

 

COVENTRY ALBANY 

Wednesday 19 October – Friday 21 October 2022 

Albany Road, Coventry, CV5 6JQ

Website:         www.albanytheatre.co.uk

Box Office:      024 7699 8964

 

BOLTON ALBERT HALLS 

Tuesday 25 October – Thursday 27 October 2022 

Victoria Square, Bolton, BL1 1RU

Website:         www.alberthalls-bolton.co.uk

Box Office:      0343 208 0500

 

SOUTHPORT ATKINSON 

Tuesday 1 November – Friday 4 November 2022 

Lord Street, Southport, PR8 1DB

Website:         www.theatkinson.co.uk

Box Office:      01704 533333

 

EPSTEIN THEATRE LIVERPOOL 

Saturday 5 November – Saturday 12 November 2022 

85 Hanover Street, Liverpool, L1 3DZ

Website:         www.epsteintheatre.co.uk

Box Office:      0844 888 9991

 

 

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