Actors Kedar Williams-Stirling, Emeka Sesay and Francis Lovehall. Writer Tyrell Williams. All names to remember, who have created this fierce, affectionate, effortlessly funny play. Set in a fading football ground in south London, it isn’t really about the game. It’s about gentrification, change, ambition and the fear of being left behind. Most of all, it’s about friendship.
Daniel Bailey’s production buzzes with energy but is also understated, relaxed and peculiarly real. As these three 16-year-old black boys practise religiously for their football trials, but essentially just chat, tease and genuinely look out for each other, the artifice of acting almost disappears. A warm and involved atmosphere emerges, as if we the spectators (on bleachers surrounding the stage) are merely an unseen extension of their lives.
