Gricers | LIF 2026

Thursday 7th May

9PM

Gricers is a new, spontaneous theatre show created to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the modern passenger railway.

Inspired by Francis Bourgeois’s book The Trainspotters Notebook and Tom Quinn’s Railways’ Strangest Journeys, this show is a bittersweet and profound reflection on male friendship and quiet obsession.Meet Mike and Mark. Their quest isn’t for fame or fortune.

It’s for the 4:32 from Manchester Piccadilly, the 11:05 to Carlisle, the one last engine number that will make their collection complete. They are ‘Gricers’, standing trackside in rain and shine, a passionate, uniquely British tribe. The real journey isn’t on the rails. It’s in the waiting. In the shared flasks of tea, the silences, the decades of friendship.

This is the story of what happens in between the arrivals and departures, a tale of two men driven by a passion to complete a collection and the hope that they can finally finish. ​

Performed by Mike Burton (Stupid, Atom Improv), Mark Smith (HOOF!, The Fly, A Wake and Taxi Tales) and Fergus Wynne this spontaneous theatre event is like no other. The show features compelling storytelling, a cavalcade of characters and live DJ’ing.