THE final UK tour of acclaimed author Helen Forrester’s captivating life story is coming to Rhyl this month.

By The Waters Of Liverpool Autumn 2023 UK Tour opened in Liverpool last week.

The tour will run for eight weeks visiting 13 venues across the country.

The tour will now visit The Lyceum in Crewe; Albany in Coventry; Waterside in Sale; Rhyl Pavilion; Hippodrome in Darlington; The Garrick in Lichfield; St Helens Theatre Royal; The Atkinson in Southport; Victoria in Halifax; and The Lowther in Lytham.

It comes to Rhyl on September 26 and 27.

By The Waters Of Liverpool Autumn 2023 UK Tour.

By The Waters Of Liverpool Autumn 2023 UK Tour.

The final run of By The Waters Of Liverpool will conclude at The Floral Pavilion in New Brighton – just a few miles from where Helen Forrester was born in Wirral.

By The Waters Of Liverpool is a stunning period drama produced by the team who brought the smash-hit Twopence To Cross The Mersey to the stage.

The creative team are producers Rob Fennah and Lynn McDermott for Pulse Stage Productions and Bill Elms. The show is directed by Gareth Tudor Price and written by Rob Fennah.

It’s been a long time coming to get the play out on the road. Its inaugural tour was scheduled to run for 12 weeks across 17 venues in Spring 2020. After some years in the planning, the tour was abandoned after visiting only three theatres when the country was forced into a national lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was also rescheduled twice when the pandemic failed to abate.

But before curtain up on this new and final tour, further challenges lay ahead for the team – including a life-saving operation and theatre closure.

Co-producer Lynn McDermott needed a kidney transplant. And it was writer and partner Rob Fennah who stepped in to be tested and was a close match. Lynn and Rob underwent the transplant less than six months ago in March 2023 – but were determined to get back to work on the tour as soon as possible, defiant with the message: “The show must go on.”

A short time later, tour opening venue The Epstein Theatre in Liverpool closed after funding was cut. So the team were tasked with finding a new venue with very little time. The Auditorium at M&S Bank Arena on the banks of the River Mersey stepped in to save the day and open the tour. The Gladstone in Port Sunlight on Wirral also played a key role by welcoming the play this week.

Coronation Street’s Tom Roberts will play John Forrester, Helen’s father; Emmerdale’s Joe Gill will play Harry O’Dwyer, Helen’s love interest; with Emma Mulligan in the lead role of Helen Forrester.

The line-up also features Lynn Francis, Daniel Taylor, Lynne Fitzgerald, Joe Owens, Samantha Alton, and Roy Carruthers.

The nine-strong cast play more than 50 characters between them – just Emma Mulligan portrays the one single character throughout as Helen Forrester.

Co-producer Bill Elms commented: “It’s been such a challenging journey for By The Waters Of Liverpool. But the tour has now opened, we have an incredibly talented cast, and the four-star reviews are flooding – we’re delighted to be back on the road.

“From pandemic lockdowns, a theatre closure, and Lynn and Rob’s extraordinary kidney transplant, it’s been a story in itself getting the play to stage and tour. This is the final ever opportunity for fans of Helen Forrester’s fascinating work to see her life story on stage

“By The Waters Of Liverpool is captivating – the story of a young woman struggling to live her life. The story is heartbreaking, heartwarming, it does have plenty of comedy moments thanks to the myriad of characters, but most of all there is so much hope and love. Something everyone needs.”