The result is a sparse rendering, often more storytelling than drama, which relies on subtle shifts in lighting and sound, and a swift parade of vivid background characters, to add dynamism and colour. This new stage play, written by Rob Fennah and directed by Bob Eaton, carefully strips down the story into a series of interlocked scenes, using a great deal of fourth-wall-busting narrative to sweep us briskly through the tale. The book proved something of a phenomenon, heralding Forrester’s prolific writing career and subsequently playing to packed houses as a musical. Twopence to Cross the Mersey is what happens when, having been bankrupted by the Great Depression, they finally hit the ground, their sense of identity and entitlement lost on the journey to Lime Street. Or rather, not so much the fall as the landing. It tells the story of her family’s precipitous fall from middle-class comfort in a southern market town into seething poverty in 1930s Liverpool. Twopence to Cross the Mersey originally appeared as a volume of memoirs by Helen Forrester in 1974. Then I scrunched into place further down the row and felt good that I’d helped someone out.īut of course, even I know almost nothing about these things compared to the family at the centre of this story.
When I arrived at the Epstein Theatre last night for this new production of Twopence to Cross the Mersey, I gave up my aisle seat to a woman who needed it more. Just the other night, for example, there was nothing on telly so I subjected myself to Justin Bieber: Never Say Never on Netflix. I like to think I know a thing or two about hardship.
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