Culture is taking over a Queens County Playhouse.
The 14th Liverpool International Theatre Festival launches tonight at the Astor Theatre.
The event includes five days of performances by theatre groups from as far away as Nepal.
General Manager Chris Ball says the community has welcomed the visitors with open arms.
“We have all the participants staying in houses with local hosts,” he says, “and the town becomes, sort of, a mini U.N. for the long weekend in May with so many countries represented.”
Ball says all the plays are done in the native language of the performers, but he says, says the stories told on stage are universal.
“Anyone who’s come to see the performances has walked away mesmerized. It, kind of proves that with theatre you don’t need the language you just need to be able to watch what’s going on, and these people are so good at expressing themselves.”
He says with recent global events it can be difficult to get artists into the country to perform.
However, Ball says this year’s tickets are selling fast and he’s confident the five day event will be a success.
The festival runs until May 22nd.
