When the Poet Becomes the Product
Alan Parry
June 7, 2026
Perhaps that’s why I find so much contemporary literary advice frustrating. An extraordinary amount of energy is spent teaching writers how to
Overall Rating: * *
Desperate Scousewives was utterly desperate!
This was billed as a fast-paced, smash hit comedy however for me and a number of the audience who walked out during the act and others minutes after the second act commenced, it didn’t hit the spot! This was sad and it has commenced on its highly anticipated and well publicised nationwide tour!
Before the show began, there was an announcement that the play contained significant references to domestic violence unfortunately, once a ticket has been bought at this stage … It is too late! Your only options are to feel uncomfortable and stay to watch it or forfeit what you have paid and leave.
Desperate Scousewives written, directed and stars Lynne Fitzgerald as Susan. It stereotypes everything most Liverpool females are not. It was as funny as bleeding haemorrhoids. Other than for the pay cheque, I’m surprised that Liverpool actresses, Lynne Francis and Chrissy Rock – whose accent was so broadly thick that it was difficult to understand what on earth she was saying for most of the performance – took on the roles. I am from Liverpool and work here so I am able to say this with full conscience. However the people next to me, thought she was drunk as her words simply slurred and to be fair, I think this was a fair evaluation. Shocking enunciation for a current theatre actress. Having seen Chrissy Rock perform on a number of occasions I was extremely disappointed.
The domestic violence issues were belittled, not juxtaposed, by other characters with comedy and the shocking singing of songs interspersed throughout.
A simple yet effective set.
This is a very generous rating of two stars.
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Perhaps that’s why I find so much contemporary literary advice frustrating. An extraordinary amount of energy is spent teaching writers how to
I didn’t come to poetry because I wanted a profile, a brand, or a place within a literary scene. Like many people,
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The Broken Spine is a poetry and arts collective proudly published on the coastal edge of North-West England. Founded in 2019 by Alan Parry and Paul Robert Mullen – two school friends reunited after twenty years through a mutual love of poetry.