'I, Daniel Blake' is coming to the Playhouse in September
The production, which has adapted Ken Loach's 2016 film for the stage, is coming to the Playhouse next month. Like the film, it tells the story of the eponymous Daniel Blake, a widowed 59-year-old Geordie joiner who recently suffered a heart attack.
The ECHO spoke to Dave Johns and David Nellist, who plays Daniel in this production, before it arrives in Liverpool. The two, both from the North East, spoke over a video call about the story's enduring message and why Merseyside will respond to its approach to politics and social justice. "That brought its own pressure because the success of the film is there for everyone to see - the number of awards that it's won - so it was quite the pressure to have that on my shoulders."Speaking to Mark, the director, we wanted to update the story as well, because we've seen the cost of living crisis. But then again so little has changed."
"We're using their own words and we have video projection, so it's a multimedia-type thing. It really, really, really contrasts well with each other. "In Birmingham, one night, this guy just stood up and said quite clearly 'You killed my wife'. It was so astounding to be on stage when that happened. This is not a play, this is real life that we're portraying."
"That's what's been good about it, over the rehearsals and over the months. This Dan feels like my Dan, but at the beginning you're just thinking 'oh he doesn't do that in the film'. You have to get that out of your head and know you've made different choices. Merseyside is well aware of that. Our region has been hit acutely by the cost of living crisis and Liverpool has suffered more in cuts to government funding than most other areas across the country.
"They come with an openness. I live and work a lot in London and occasionally they're sitting back and it's 'come on then, entertain us'. Whereas they're with you there right from the beginning.
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