Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Adam Byrne, Mikyla Jane Durkan, Peter Durr, Maggi Green, Mike Howl, Frank Kennedy, Joe Matthew-Morris, Geraldine Moloney Judge, Claire O’Neill, Mike Sanders, Rosalie Sephton, Joseph Stanley, Kevin Thomas, Callum Wright.
Give The Fans Sweet F.A. and they will keep coming back for more, inflate the price, turn the game into a sideshow, introduce razzmatazz and suddenly the national game becomes a circus and because of the nature of addiction, because we still love our team, our identity is so wrapped up in wearing the latest shirt, keeping up to date with possibility of signing the next wonder kid from who knows where, every conceivable piece of merchandise hangs on the walls and still we allocate yet more of our income to be part of the ‘experience’. The chance to stand with our neighbours and friends and be part of a large community, taken over and spoilt by corporate greed, priced out of travelling the country, priced out of being on the terraces and seeing a kid you know who grew up in your area score the winner in the local derby.
Give the fans just a glimpse, let them fork out a couple of hundred pounds a week, let them eat cake, and according to the powers that be, they will be grateful.
Playwright Mike Howl doesn’t pull any punches as he takes Everton fan Peter down the road to rebellion, sick of the burgeoning corporate world, the sense of entitlement that those who brought the Premier League three ringed circus to the masses and who have a finger in every pie concerned, Peter retaliates in the only way he can, he schemes and plots to attend every game over the period of time and do it for free.
Any football fan feels a bit special when they have their ticket upgraded for a single match, when their children take their place at the side of a player and become a mascot for the day but these ‘experiences’ still cost money, how is the ordinary fan, the ones who love the game more than life itself, supposed to compete; Peter has the plan and it is audacious in its delivery, but one that may come at the highest price of all.
Mike Howl may not mince words in the scathing of the actions of the Football Establishment, but through various characters, including a rather poignant portrayal of a man aggrieved, performed by Mike Sanders, a welcome return to the stage in Adam Byrne in various guises throughout and Mikyla Jane Durkan in fine voice as Peter’s put-upon wife, this particular production, with a cast obviously relishing the fact the were able to spread their acting wings further by performing in one of the newest venues in town in the downstairs studio of the Royal Court, was spot on in its overall assessment of the way the game has been stolen from the voice of the ordinary person on the street.
An enjoyable, yet bluntly told tale, Mike Howl at his best.
Ian D. Hall