Tony Teardrop @ St Luke's Church, Liverpool

The grounds of St Luke's Church, aka 'The Bombed-Out Church', one of Liverpool’s most unusual and fascinating spots, are a well-known haunt of the city’s homeless community. The location inspired – and is featured as a set piece in – Tony Teardrop, a play by Liverpool writer Esther Wilson. Written in 2004 as part of the National Theatre’s regional voices scheme, it never saw the light of day as a stage production, although there have been radio adaptations.

Now, as fate would have it, Tony Teardrop is being performed for the very first time in St Luke’s in a production by Cut to the Chase, known for its ambitious site-specific works, which include last year’s Titanic commemoration Treasured in Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral.

Set in a residential home for homeless alcoholics and inspired by real stories, Tony Teardrop is a biting, humorous play about people living on the edges of society. The title character is played by Manchester actor Neil Bell, best known for his role as Soz in Shane Meadows’ Dead Man’s Shoes.

Of Tony Teardrop, writer Wilson says: “Walking past St Luke’s a couple of years ago I heard a guy, a little worse for wear, say to his mate ‘let’s sit over there on that bench, we’ll get a different view’. The other bench was just a few feet away. I was moved by the profundity of such a statement. I hope everyone involved in Tony Teardrop, including the audience, goes away with a different view of the people who are as much a part of this city as its leaders and its dignitaries.”

The outdoor performance – for which ticket holders are advised to wrap up warm and bring blankets – also goes some way to helping people empathise with the lives of the homeless characters on stage.

This production is part of a larger collaborative project, which also includes the striking photographic work of Lee Jeffries that will lead to an exhibition later in the year, and outreach work, including creative workshops with the city’s homeless community. [Vicky Anderson]