A REHEARSED reading by acclaimed Liverpool playwright Lizzie Nunnery is one of the highlights of this year’s Everyword festival, starting today.

Blood and Soil is the tale of journalist Martha, who finds herself isolated in a strange city and turns to asylum seeker Canaan for support.

But do we ever understand each other’s stories? it asks. “It’s been a real challenge,” says Maghull-born Nunnery. “It’s a jigsaw play, there are lots of pieces of stories fitting together to create a big thematic impact. It’s very different in that sense, and very contemporary.”

As it was set partly in Liverpool and partly in Zimbabwe, the playwright met with Zimbabweans living here.

“It was difficult to have incredible true stories in front of me, then write something fictional which addresses the issues.

“It’s about truth and storytelling and the difficulty of representing people’s stories properly.”

Nunnery studied at Oxford University, where her first play, The Fine Art of Falling to Pieces, won a new writing competition. Since then she’s written at least one new play a year, and took part in the first ever Everyword in 2004 with Love as well as winning acclaim as one of the writers of Unprotected.

BLOOD and Soil is at the Everyman on Thursday.