Considering football is played and adored by millions across the globe, it's a little surprising that there are very few theatre productions based on it.
Perhaps the reason for that is because the beautiful game is one that involves 22 people, not to mention the spectators and officials, making it a logistical nightmare to stage effectively.
But The Red Lion - which is currently running at the Bristol Old Vic's Weston Studio - shows that football is not simply a game played on well-kept grass.
The three-hander is set away from the pitch, instead in the dressing room of a non-league team with an egotistical, meddling manager played superbly by Broadchurch star and local legend Joe Sims.
The 90-minute (can you see what they did there?) play is made up of slick dialogue between Sims' character, Kidd, kit man and club stalwart Yates and promising youngster Jordan, and while this might not have been what people were expecting when they bought tickets to see a "playa about football", the razor sharp script, commendable acting and believable characters keep you gripped from kick-off until the final whistle.
Local boy Sims demonstrates just why he's caught the eye of casting agents for top productions as soon as he enters the stage with an accomplished showing - but his man of the match performance is assisted admirably by Bristol City icon David Lloyd, whose understated portrayal as general club dogsbody will ring true with all who have played football at any level, and Thomas McGee as the non-league starlet destined for big things.
With both laugh-out-loud moments and incidents that genuinely make you gasp, The Red Lion documents the power struggle between kit man and manager as they try to profiteer on the gifted young player, whose naivety is very well portrayed by McGee, making his professional stage debut. For Yates, Jordan could restore the declining fortunes of the whole team - but cut-throat manager Kidd is determined to make the young lad his own and use his talent for financial gain.
The trio soon find themselves entangled in a web of lies, not knowing who to trust or where to turn. Although fiction, you can't help but wonder what really goes on behind the closed doors of non-league changing rooms up and down the country as you watch the action unfold - especially as all three actors have had some involvement in the game
The minimalist yet effective set design complements the production, designed like the typically drab changing room you'd expect to encounter in the lower rungs of English football with advertising banners draped over the railings to add to the aesthetic.
The delicately constructed web of views, motives, relationships and secrets creates an absorbing exploration of the world of community football. It is developed with enjoyable subtlety, and backed up by performances that draw out the detail.
In Joe Sims, the production finds its driving force. As the irascible manager Kidd, Sims excels as he moves from punch to counterpunch in his duels with the kit man Yates over the future of young talent Jordan.
a world away from the riches of the professional game. Here we find the kit man, the manager and talented, young prospect Jordan - all in the changing room of the semi-pro non-league game.
And before attending Bristol Old Vic to watch The Red Lion, knowing that it's a "play about football", you might wonder
You'd be forgiven for thinking The Red Lion is a play about football, but it's far more complex than that.
Following a city-wide call-out to find an aspiring local actor to play the role of emerging footballer 'Jordan', Thomas McGee joins Bristol legend Joe Sims (Broadchurch) and Bristol City icon and actor David Lloyd in Patrick Marber ’s three-hander, exploring the passions and conflict that run deep in non-league, semi-pro football.
In a world removed from the wealth and television cameras, a non-league team are struggling to make ends meet. So, when a gifted young player arrives out of nowhere, it’s the opportunity everyone’s been waiting for. For the kit man, Yates, this brilliant player will restore the declining fortunes of the whole team. But the ambitious manager, Kidd, is determined to make him his own…
