Sheffield Theatres has revived Mike Bartlett’s 2012 adaptation of Chariots of Fire in another Olympic year. Robert Hastie’s production even nods to the neatness of his programming, as actors in tracksuits limber up under a title that reads “Paris 2024”. Projected headings scroll through Olympics past – Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, London – as the revolving stage takes us back in time, to Paris 1924 and the battle between runners Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell.
A century on, their efforts are still compelling. Abrahams is the son of a Jewish immigrant facing antisemitism in the hallowed halls of Cambridge, while Liddell is a devout Christian who runs in the name of God. As in the 1981 film, we follow their journey to the Olympic Games, but beneath this there are other stories: about patriotism, class and the tension between amateur and professional.
