A play which explores the impact of the Hillsborough disaster is returning to Liverpool with the first full-length production at the Olympia Theatre.
The play “97+” is written and directed by Tom Cain and is co-produced by Tom Cain Theatre and Bill Elms Productions. It has previously won acclaim at the Liverpool Theatre Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe in a shorter form.
The play, set in 2012, focuses on Hillsborough survivors John and Steve who are both still dealing with the trauma of the disaster 23 years on.
The full production will premier for one night only on April 12, just before the 35-year anniversary of the disaster which claimed the lives of 97 Liverpool fans during a crush in an FA Cup semi final on April 15 1989 at the Hillsborough stadium.
Tom researched and wrote the drama while a student at Edge Hill University and with the assistance of the Hillsborough Survivors Support Alliance, which provides a Hillsborough Transformational Recovery Model – a therapy set up by survivors intended to help other survivors.
a sensitive but hard-hitting story
It was presented as a 90-minute play at Liverpool Theatre Festival’s Little LTF platform for new writing in 2022, with the sensitive but hard-hitting story winning plaudits from both critics and audiences.
It was so successful it went on to be staged at the main Liverpool Theatre Festival in 2022 before being taken to Edinburgh and the Buxton Fringe Festival last summer. Each performance has helped raise money for the survivors’ charity.
Now Tom, whose own grandfather was a Hillsborough survivor, has revisited the drama to present it as a full-length version.
He said: “To think this was something I originally wrote during lockdown for my Edge Hill University drama dissertation, to performing shorter editions of the piece at Liverpool Theatre Festival, Edge Hill and even outside Merseyside at the Buxton and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals – where we were able to gain an international audience, to now playing at such an incredible venue as the Liverpool Olympia. It’s truly a dream come true.”
Bill Elms added: “I’m delighted this play is going from strength to strength; it’s a powerful piece and a story that needs to be told to a new generation.
“It’s had nothing but praise from critics and audiences alike and I’m proud to continue to support Tom’s work, having been selected to be performed at Little LTF, then winning a place at the main Liverpool Theatre Festival in 2022.”
