The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is to stage a very special and emotive production aimed at spreading awareness of the Hillsborough disaster.

‘Beyond Hillsborough’ is a new play that will be performed by Wirral students next week at the world’s largest arts festival.

It dramatises original interviews with survivors, bereaved family members, politicians, police and journalists to ask ‘Is there hope after Hillsborough?’

Directed by West Kirby drama teachers Jo Halliday and Layla Dowie, ‘Beyond Hillsborough’ is set in the present day and is performed by sixth-form drama students from three Wirral schools. Through many interviews with those directly involved in the tragedy, the play explores the consequences of living with the disaster.

Ms Halliday said: “The Hillsborough disaster has had a far-reaching effect on our local community; for some there is still an enormous feeling of pain and injustice more than 20 years on. We therefore felt compelled to create a piece of theatre to inform younger generations of what happened and provide a voice for those still dealing with the consequences of Hillsborough.

“I’ve always been interested in the subject and angry at the conduct of the media, police and the government in relation to the disaster. A good friend from university lost his cousin that day and I have strong memories of my shock when he told me how his aunt and uncle had been treated.”

Speaking of her intentions for the play, Ms Halliday said: “Most of the students knew nothing of Hillsborough at the start of the project. I got them doing research as we made contact with the various interviewees. One of the first things we did was to get the support of families and survivors – we’ve tried to be sensitive throughout and listen carefully to any concerns.

“Our main aim is to give the family members, survivors and supporters a voice to express their feelings and in turn reach a new audience of young people. The feedback we’ve had from those involved and our audiences has been very encouraging and positive.”

‘Beyond Hillsborough’ is an example of verbatim theatre in which plays are constructed from the precise words spoken by people interviewed about a particular topic. It’s a form of drama that Ms Halliday believes is especially potent.

She added: “I strongly believe in the power and potential of theatre to bring issues to an audience – verbatim theatre is excellent for this.”

In order to meet the £15,000 costs of putting on the production at the fringe, the students themselves launched a series of fundraising initiatives.

One of these was a ‘Celebrity Gift and Promise’ scheme, which saw Wirral-born James Bond actor Daniel Craig donate a signed leather flying jacket from his role as Bond in ‘Quantum of Solace’.

‘Weakest Link’ host Anne Robinson, The Zutons and pop diva Jessie J were among other celebrities to help the young actors’ dreams come true, with the bright lights of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival now the next stop.

‘Beyond Hillsborough’ is showing at the Edinburgh Quaker Meeting House, Venue 40, and runs from August 6-11, between 11.40am and 12.40pm each day.

For tickets and more information click here to visit the official Edinburgh Fringe Festival website>>

You can also follow Zipped Up Theatre on Twitter @zippedUpTheatre.

Today sees the launch of the all-new Liverpool FC magazine, out at the start of every month, and to whet your appetite here are extracts from three fascinating interviews in a jam-packed first issue.

Can you guess who’s talking? All is revealed a little further down…

“What can fans expect from my Liverpool teams? The ability to fight for the club. It’s a minimum requirement. It’s not a choice, it’s an obligation. This is a great club and there are millions of people who would love to pull on that shirt. The players who get to do it are the lucky ones. My objective is to ensure that no matter what the result – win, lose or draw – the players fight for the pride and culture of this great club…”

“Our rivalry with United is really interesting when you analyse it historically. Both clubs and indeed cities share similar working-class roots. In a way I can identify with their traditional supporters. I met Alex Ferguson once and he told me how much he relished taking his teams to Anfield. The energy of the occasion inspired him. He was very courteous…”

“Every night after a match we’d go for a meal. Before, I’d never had a proper discussion with Roy Keane, Gordon Strachan or Roberto Martinez. They wanted us to come across as if we were sitting in a restaurant or a bar, talking about the kind of things the man on the street talks about. There’s no point in doing the show if you’re not being honest – at least have a debate.”

Guessed who yet? From the top, it’s manager Brendan Rodgers answering fans’ questions on the task ahead, actor Sue Johnston on her love for Liverpool FC, and defender Jamie Carragher on his brilliant Euro 2012 punditry – while strolling on Crosby Beach! There’s lots, lots more, including exclusives with Steven Gerrard and Lucas and plenty of news and views on all things LFC.

Readers can subscribe here or call the hotline on 08700 20 20 20. The mag is available at a special price of £2 in club stores throughout August.

Brendan Rodgers has labelled Jamie Carragher a ‘model professional’ as Bootle’s finest hopes to make his 700th appearance in a red shirt.

Liverpool’s No.23 is in Belarus preparing for the Europa League third round qualifier, first leg tie with FC Gomel tonight, and while the boss is giving nothing away in terms of who will be in his starting XI, he has huge admiration and respect for Carragher.

Rodgers told Liverpoolfc.com: “He’s a phenomenal character. I’ve watched him from the outside for many years and to play 700 games at a club as prestigious as this is incredible.

“The pressures that come with wearing the shirt at this club are vast and for him it’s a way of life. He’s devoted his life to being a football player. He’s 34 now, so it doesn’t get any easier when you are older, but certainly I’ve been very impressed over the course of the pre-season.

“I saw him when he came off during the Tottenham game after an hour and he still looked very fresh and that’s a great testament not only to the work he is putting in every day but also to how he leads his life away from the field with his preparation.

“He’s a model professional and if we can develop kids here like Jamie Carragher and go on to have a career like him then certainly the club won’t go too far wrong.

“He’s a phenomenal player, an incredible character and one that I’m happy to have by my side.”

Get your tickets for Liverpool’s Anfield clashes with FC Gomel and Bayer Leverkusen now>>