A THEATRE production about a girl with big dreams living with the scourge of domestic violence and poverty is coming to Ellesmere Port.

Monkeywood Theatre production Once in a House on Fire toured in 2011 and won Manchester Theatre Award nominations for Best New Play and Best Studio Performance.

It will visit Action Transport Theatre’s base at Whitby Hall on Thursday, April 19.

Developed with The Lowry Studio, supported by Arts Council England and funded through grants for the arts, the play, by Sarah McDonald Hughes, is an extraordinary story about ordinary people growing up in Manchester during the 1970s and 1980s.

Based on the award-winning memoir by Andrea Ashworth, the story focuses on a family of four women living in the shadow of domestic violence and poverty.

In a rainy world of poverty, violence, packing up and moving on, Andy and her sisters escape through stories, games and dreams of a ‘happy family’. But, with each new start ending faster than the last, their hopes are stubbed out along with their mum’s cigarettes. As Andy gets older and a new life beckons, she knows her escape will come at a cost.

Andrea Ashworth’s family have been fully supportive of the play, with Andrea’s sister and niece attending rehearsals and speaking at the premiere at The Lowry.

Her niece, Hannah Lorraine Tompkins, said: “The eloquence with which Monkeywood have executed this is impressive and beautiful: they have managed to illustrate the tale of a brutal home life while simultaneously portraying the flourishing of a young girl with big dreams.”

The production will help to support Women’s Worldwide Web, an online platform that empowers women, their families and communities.

Tickets for the show at Action Transport Theatre, Ellesmere Port, on Thursday, April 19, at 7.30pm are £8, £5 concessions. To book, email boxoffice@actiontransporttheatre.org or telephone 0151 357 2120.