THE impact that drugs and alcohol have on families will be highlighted in a play that is returning to St Helens next month.

Mum Can You Lend Me Twenty Quid? written by Mike Howl and produced by the Citadel, will celebrate its 50th performance on Thursday, March 20 (6pm-8pm) at St Helens Central Library.

The production has toured nationally and is based on a book by Elizabeth Burton-Phillips.

The play highlights the impact of drugs and alcohol on families and the importance of recovery. It charts the tragic journey of Elizabeth’s family and her twin boys, Nick and Simon who, as young men, became addicted to heroin and crack cocaine. It leads to Nick’s death but Simon manages to turn his life around and recovers from addiction.

Director Carmel Baines from the Citadel said: “It’s really exciting to be performing the play in Central Library – we last performed the show in St Helens in November 2012, but over the last 14 months it’s evolved and developed significantly to suit venues such as prisons, churches and community centres. So it’s really fantastic to be performing our 50th show in St Helens and showing people how adaptable the cast and show is for different venues.”

St Helens Council’s Cabinet Member Cllr Richard McCauley said: “This performance is part of the Cultural Hubs programme funded by Arts Council England, which sees the arts service programming a whole host of performances, events and engagement projects at all of our 13 library spaces.

“I’ve heard really great things about this performance, the cast and the impact that the show has on audiences and I’m really excited about seeing the show.”

As well as the performances, Elizabeth Burton-Phillips will be presenting a talk and book signing at 3.30pm on March 20. Tickets can be booked for FREE, but the audience will be asked to pay what they can afford on the evening – with all proceeds going to charity.

To reserve a seat call 01744 677087 or email artsservice@sthelens.gov.uk