The Light House / Alys Williams

“Man overboard, man overboard! Call control. Blow the whistle.”

Love is a complicated business. It gets even more complicated when the person you love doesn’t want to be alive. Tender, funny and defiantly hopeful, The Light House is a real-life story of falling in love and staying in love, even when the lights go out and you’re lost in the dark. It’s a love letter to life.

Join the emergency response as we dance in the kitchen, sing in the streets and try to turn the lights back on. It gets lonely, muddling through these days and nights. So why don’t we do it together?

★★★★★ “an absolute joy” (The Arts Dispatch)
★★★★★ “A truly remarkable play that leaves you dizzy, a little breathless and smiling your happy smile all the way home” (I ThankYou Theatre)
★★★★★ “magnificently acted”(A Youngish Perspective)
★★★★★ “crafted from top to bottom with artistry” (Theatre Weekly)

With puppetry, clowning and gently embedded audience participation, ‘The Light House’ is the highly acclaimed debut play of Lecoq-trained theatre artist Alys Williams, supported by an exciting, female-led creative team. Following a celebrated national tour and London run at Park Theatre in 2023-4, The Light House returns to stages across the UK in 2026 “to bring hope to nation that is crying out for it” (★★★★★ Theatre & Tonic).

Originally from the north of England, Alys Williams is an actor, director and theatre maker based in Glasgow & Leeds. She trained at the internationally renowned École internationale de théâtre Jacques Lecoq in France and has worked across the UK and beyond with companies including Leeds Playhouse, Manipulate Festival, Mull Theatre, Al Seed Productions, Mind The Gap, Red Ladder, Slung Low, Cecil Green Arts, Cygnet Theatre (Paris), OYO (Namibia) and Corrymeela Arts (N. Ireland).

The Light House was created with the support of Arts Council England, Leeds Playhouse & Red Ladder, in partnership with local carer groups. The 2026 tour has been made possible through support from Creative Scotland, Traverse Theatre, the Touring Network and NRTF (National Rural Touring Forum).

Running time: 60 minutes, no interval
Age rating: 12+
Presented in partnership with CatStrand.

Sensitive content: 
The performance includes sensitive content, including references to depression, suicide/suicidal ideation & hospitalisation. The show does include gentle audience participation but it’ s okay to say ‘ no ’ if you would prefer not to participate.

Audio description
This performance has some embedded audio description (partial only) to support accessibility for visually impaired audience members. Introductory audio notes describing the visual appearance of the set, costume & performer can be made available to audiences before the performance. Contact CatStrand for details.

Writer & Performer                              Alys Williams
Director                                                 Andrea Heaton
Producers                                             Sheena Miller & Rachael Halliwell
Tour Booker                                          Sheena Miller
Associate Director                              Rod Dixon
Movement Director                            Maya Carroll
Lighting Designer                               Matthew Carnazza
Sound Designer                                  Ed Heaton
Set & costume Designer                   Emma Williams
Technical Stage Manager                Alma Sua Lindenhovius
Well-being Practitioner                     Noelle Adames
Access Consultant                             Vicky Ackroyd
Illustrator                                              Joshua Morgan