From the outside, Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts looks like an impressive Georgian building…read morethat is home to important academics. In actual fact, it's an all singing, all dancing facility where students are encouraged to live out their Glee and Fame fantasies! Built in 1825, the building was originally used as a school for boys with past students including Paul McCartney and George Harrison. Hearing the building was empty and neglected in the late eighties, McCartney joined forces with entepeneur and Brit School founder Mark Featherstone-Witty to regenerate and re-open the building as a higher education facility for creatives. After a seven year struggle and mulit-million pound investment, the doors open in 1996 offering students diplomas, degrees and post-graduate programmes in everything from Performing Arts, Music, Dance and Sound Technology to Entertainment Management and Theatre and Performance Design. I've never studied at LIPA personally but if I was in my teens, I might aspire to. Alongside regular classes, there are masterclasses and Q&A sessions with industry veterans and musicians. Previous guests have included Trevor Horn, Malcolm McClaren, Antony H. Wilson, Alan McGee, Cathy Dennis and Will Young.

I lived with 8 LIPA students last year and dealt directly with the institute in helping to set up…read moreand promote performances across the city! I must say, this place breeds talent on a huge scale and I'd never lived amongst such a great group of people before. What's more is they all spoke highly of LIPA and all that it has to offer. LIPA has a huge success rate and many affiliations across the performance industry. It offers classes in singer/song writing, music management, performance, community performance, dance, acting and a wealth of interlinked modules. It's an expensive place to study and can be a hard place to get into due to the amount of applications that the institute receives each year.. But it's a great place, a really sound place (Excuse the pun). LIPA students have a great social community and I was proud to be a part of it as I met some fantastic and talented people from all corners of the globe!

Great venue in the Docks area. Never knew they had a smaller venue on first floor. Saw Steve Mason…read moreand the venue was perfect. Friendly staff. Great crowd and effing' Steve Mason. Only drawback is toilets seem to be in a different postal code.

Little by name, little by exterior but certainly not little by nature. This Tardis of a theatre…read morelooks like barely anything from the outside, a narrow bit of building with a sign that makes one whimsical, thinking this is what theatres in urban New York must be like. Once you're inside it might look somewhat dated, it might not have the contemporary architecture or interior design of a lot of bigger, newer theatres these days, but there's a real gutsy David as opposed to Goliath feel to the place and it reminds me of the university theatre my drama group used to borrow for our productions. Yes, I was in a drama group when I was younger, big whoop, wanna fight about it? The Little Theatre just feels homey to me. The decor is rather traditional, the seats are usually red and in the auditorium they're those flippy ones that smack you in the buns when you stand up, and the staff are older than the usual types you get at theatres nowadays but you get the feeling they're working there for a reason - because they care. It's like all those old, beautiful cinemas that have sadly closed down and given way to multiplexes and bingo halls. I hope this never happens to The Little Theatre. People still go there because the stage is more than adequate for any production, be it Shakespeare or family friendly, Miller or Orton, heck, it's practically made for Beckett given the simplicity. And the bar's a really nice well polished area where you can chinwag and grab a nice strong G&T before the show. I think it certainly deserves to be here and alongside Southport's various arts centres and galleries, The Little Theatre stands proud as a symbol of the seaside town's excellent little culture hub. I love it.

The Unity Theatre is to be commeneded for its commtiment to new theatre productions, new writers…read moreand local talent but with this in mind much of what goes on here can be a bit rough around the edges or hit and miss. With a scarcity of genuine artistic and experimental endeavour with regard some of the more obscure or alternative arts such as dance in Liverpool, The Unity is a vital outlet for such performances and nurturing a broader outlet for creativity in the city beyond music and playwriting especially when the prestigious Lippa institution is situated nearby. The building itself has benefitted from funding and development is a very pleasant, bright and modern space with a nice, if slightly sterile bar area.

Unity is another one of Liverpool's unique buildings that offer more in the way of culture through…read moreproviding a range of drama, dance, comedy, music and art. This place has won loads of awards, one's that have included: The Mersey Partnership Tourism Award for Best Venue, and The Scouseology Award. This place always offers a wide range of shows to suit everyone from young children to the older viewer. In addition, every year there is a festival for children; this makes it great for family day out and in my opinion we need more places that get children involved with music, art and drama encouraging them off the streets. Unity has been situated in Hope place for the last 26 years, and according to its website has attracted 'over 26,500 individual customers to over 260 performances each year'.

This is such a lovely theatre run with pride and care be dedicated volunteers. I recommend popping…read morealong to the bar for a pre or post show drink as the prices are extremely reasonable. The best bit of a pre-show visit is that you can order an interval drink there and then and when the interval comes it will be waiting for you- no queueing needed! There is an ice cream and sweets concession that also sells bottled water so if that's all you need you don't need to travel down to the bar. That, too, is very reasonably priced. The plays themselves are varied throughout a season there should be something for most interests. The acting, costume and set design certainly do not look amateurish considering this is an amateur theatre. One thing to note- I'm not sure how well the theatre does on disability access. To my untrained eye I couldn't see a way of getting a wheelchair user down the narrow steps to the subterranean bar. If this is a concern for you or your party I would consider checking with the theatre first before making any bookings.

This is a small (hence the name) theatre but it's very traditional. It looks a little out of place…read moreon the street as the original buildings that were alongside it have been knocked down. The history of the theatre dates back to 1943 and was known as the Friendly Society. They have a varied programme of events and the pantomime is always well worth a visit a Christmas. The ticket prices are very good, it's only £8 for an adult at the most with there been reductions of different days and for children and concessions. All major credit cards are accepted.

Bought 6 tickets for Wizard of Oz as a Christmas present for my family for the showing on 23…read moreDecember. 2 members of family became ill a few days before and the day before decided they were not well enough to go. I telephoned ATG tickets to ask for an exchange but was told I couldnt change as not 48 hours notice. How can anyone give 48 hours notice of illness! I had taken out ticket protection but it seems this is only for the ticket holder and as I wasnt ill I have now lost nearly £300 and my familys including my grandchildren's Christmas present has been ruined. Do not take out ticket protection. Waste of money. There are still seats available for this show so why they couldnt be exchanged I do not know. Impossible to get in touch with theatre direct. Can only deal with ATG tickets! Will be putting this on facebook too.

Couldn't get tickets for this show in Manchester so we got them for Liverpool …read more. Came to watch The Impossible for my Sons birthday as he loves all magic & Dare devil stunts. The show was amazing from start to finish with illusions, magic & tricks... The Theatre reminds me of the Palace in Manchester which I love... Lovely bar area for refreshments during interval, but a little pricey bought my son a small tub of ice cream which cost £4. Definitely will return to this theatre though .

I have been to the royle court for a show as well as the comedy club…read more The venue lends itself well to both larger events as well as smaller intamate nights such as the comedy club. Prices for shows are very reasonable and can be booked in advance. Popular shows get booked up very quickly so be quick.

Recently went to see Slappers and Slapheads and I had a great night. The atmosphere was terrific…read more The venue itself needs a bit of TLC and it's a shame the Capital of Culture funds thought it more important to build a shopping centre (yawn) and not throw money at a theatre that provides local plays which from my experience everybody can enjoy. A great night out. A great laugh. I would definitely go again.

The Playhouse strikes a bold shadow in Williamson Square, I've seen many a good play here, from…read moreArthur Miller's The Price and more recently, Ghost Stories (a cross between The League of Gentlemen and Derren Brown) with numbers scrawled over the walls, sifting into your subconscious and a true psychological horror. On at the moment is a classic performance of The Woman in Black and it has to be said that the range of plays performed at The Playhouse is outstanding. A real old-style theatre you can really enter into the atmosphere and enjoy the imaginative experience. If you're a bit short on cash and can't afford tickets at full price or on the last minute, try going down on the day (preferably early!) as they sell any remaining tickets for a fiver. Cheaper than the cinema and a little more cultural!

To say the Playhouse is my second favourite theatre in Liverpool is not to denigrate the place, I…read morehave seen some fantastic productions here it's just that the city also boasts the Everyman which is by far my favourite theatre in the country. The theatre has been here for some time and while the fascia and theatre itself are fairly traditional - whitewashed, cornice studded walls and heavy red curtains are the order of the day - the reception and bar areas have both received a bit of a facelift. This combination of the traditional and the modern is indicative of the sort of work that the Playhouse plays host to. Recently I have seen a fantastic production of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales which was excellent and demonstrated the versatility that an apron theatre space still has, given a skilled production team and set of actors. The Woman in Black will be playing here very soon having had an immensely successful run in London and this is demonstrative of the sort of production and acting talent that the Playhouse can attract. Very, very highly recommended.

Lovely theatre, has real character. I've seen many a show here, in fact I think this was the first…read moretheatre I visited, to see Cinderella (the Ballet) for my grandad's birthday years ago! I remember thinking it was the bees knees and very posh! It does have a very grand appearance and the bar area is lovely. The toilets could do with an update, small, not enough of them and always grubby. But that said who goes to the theatre to see the toilets!

A great old theatre which has shown some great shows over the years. Recently modernised.read more