Alan Dossor's Creative Legacy

"Alan Dossor supervised a golden five-year period in British regional theatre
at the Liverpool Everyman when, between 1970 and 1975, he produced plays
by John McGrath, Alan Bleasdale, Mike Stott and Willy Russell, and
forged a brilliant, irreverent company of new actors that included
Julie Walters, Alison Steadman, Antony Sher, Trevor Eve, Jonathan Pryce,
Matthew Kelly, Bernard Hill, Bill Nighy and Pete Postlethwaite."
Michael Coveney, Guardian

In the work of the people he nurtured and inspired, Alan’s creative legacy is all around us: in theatre, on TV, on film. 

And it’s in the bricks and the spirit of the Everyman.

Now, each year a resident acting Company will make the Everyman their home from January to June each year, a move that owes much of its inspiration to Alan’s creative crucible of the 1970s.

Each year, a ‘graduate’ of YEP, our youth theatre, will join the acting Company and receive the intensive training that is unique to rep. Each young actor will be paid the full Equity rate, and will have a three-month preparatory ‘boot camp’ to equip him or her for the rigours of rep.

“As a young actor, opportunities like this are like stardust”
Elliott Kingsley, 2017 Everyman Company Acting Trainee

To make this possible, we have set up an appeal fund for £100,000 - £20,000 per actor - to support five acting trainees over five years. David Morrissey, who was inspired by Alan’s work as a teenager before joining the Everyman Youth Theatre himself, is leading the fundraising for this appeal, whose supporters also include Willy Russell, Julie Walters and Bill Nighy.

We are delighted to know that the new Everyman building; the talent and energy of YEP, and the return of rep to Hope Street all made Alan very happy. And we are very grateful that his family feel that the Young Actor Appeal is a fitting way to remember Alan, and to extend his creative legacy into the next generation.

Please click here to donate securely via CAF. Thank you.