An evening with Gary Lineker

This ribald comedy has as its background the 1990 Football World Cup Semi-final which was taking place in Italy between England and West Germany, whilst Bill (played by Dean Revill) and Monica (played by Karen Revill) were on holiday in Majorca, trying to rebuild their troubled marriage. Monica dreams of an affair with Gary Lineker, the “Queen Mother of Football”, though in fact she has been seeing Bill’s friend, the travel writer Dan Hudson (played by Kristian Hardiman). Circumstances change when Dan unexpectedly arrives at their hotel, and together, in the company of Bill’s colleague Ian (played by Ian Clarke)  and Birgitta, the local German tourist rep (played by Chrissy Brown),they settle down to watch the game on TV. Throughout the ninety minutes, extra time and the penalty shoot-out, the field of play switches between the hotel and the Italian football pitch with Adam Harris briefly performing a non-speaking part at the end of the play representing Gary Lineker. The set was designed and constructed as an unfussy holiday apartment which included a small balcony and the players were costumed as typical holiday makers. Thanks to the interpretation and sensitive direction of Jon Russell, a great deal was revealed about the characters involved in the story and their relationships. This production was obviously very well-rehearsed which resulted in the actors moving about the set in a confident manner and delivering their lines clearly and with feeling – they deserve recognition for the huge effort they all put into delivering believable characterisation. Much is made in football commentaries about the fixtures and the players, but in this production we learned a great deal about those who are supporters of “the beautiful game”.  Well-done all who were involved in this wonderful team effort!

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.