COMES TO THE VICTORIA THEATRE HALIFAX

Twopence to cross the Mersey is  based on the late Helen Forester’s million-selling autobiography. The play written by Rob Fennah, chronicles Helen’s early life during The Great Depression in 1930s Liverpool  and will be at the Victoria Theatre Halifax on Thursday 13 and Friday 14 October.

Featuring a cast of 9 playing over 40 characters, the drama is set in the early 1930s in the midst of the Great Depression. 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 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

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

Tickets for Twopence to Cross The Mersey are available from www.victoriatheatre.co.uk, or by calling the Box Office on 01422 351158

production picture:Anthony Robling