Red Skies

Stories from the Liverpool Blitz

In 1940-41, Merseyside lost almost 4000 people to Hitler’s blitzkrieg. Many more thousands were injured.

RED SKIES by Jo Mac is a play that the writer promised she would write in memory of her nan who survived the Luftwaffe’s merciless assault on the city.

It will be performed at St George’s Hall from 24-27 May as part of the city’s Battle of the Atlantic Commemorations.

On December 31st 1940, fifteen people are huddled in an air raid shelter as the German bombers do their brutal work overhead. Disgruntled at being forced out of the Grafton where they had been celebrating, they pass the time telling stories, singing and making do with the odd bottle of stout and a pan of scouse.

Class differences, petty squabbles, black market deals, love intrigues, as well as enacted tales of tragedy and loss, all play a part as they while away the hours till midnight strikes and they desperately let old acquaintance be forgot and try to welcome in a happier new year …

RED SKIES combines humour and warmth, pathos and tragedy, songs and dancing to produce a show that is life-affirming as well as a salutary and timely reminder of the horrors of war, both then and now.

This is a play for youngsters who have never seen war but learn about it at school. It’s for the older people who went through it as children or adults. It’s also for anybody interested in the social history of the period. In fact it’s for anyone who likes a good story.

It’s a play full of laughter, tears and drama. It is the ‘Spirit of Liverpool’.

Tickets cost £14 or £12 (concessions) and are available from St George’s Hall Heritage Centre or by calling 0151 225 6909. The performance begins at 7.30pm.

Audience members are encouraged to come dressed in fashions of the period.

 

 

Liverpool Waterfront