The Beautiful Game

The Beautiful Game

The Beautiful Game is set in Belfast between 1969 and 1972. It follows the fortunes of a group of young men and women involved in, and supporters of, a local youth football team. These young people have the misfortune of coming of age at the beginning of a time of terrible trouble in Northern Ireland.  The drama follows their efforts to live their lives against a backdrop of ever increasing sectarian division and violence. Some of the characters are drawn into the conflict; others stand aside wanting only to be allowed to get on with their lives in peace. This is not a feel good show and it is difficult to enjoy because of the subject matter but if done well it can stir many emotions.

As always Stoke Youth committed whole heartedly to this musical. Although it had a hard hitting storyline, with some haunting moments and difficult (sometimes bizarre) music, the youngsters gave it everything they had. The company were a good solid support to the principals and the singing was both precise and evocative.

The photograph of the football team is a base around which the musical revolves and as we follow the story we see how the lives of each of the characters are affected by the political and religious turmoil around them. The use of the projections worked well and it was extremely thought provoking when the players at the end disappeared from the photograph one by one.

With the musical being set in Belfast I was concerned that there was going to be some dodgy Irish (possibly sometimes Welsh) accents making an appearance, but I was surprised and delighted to hear how the whole cast had worked hard to master the accent for both dialogue and songs.

The set did what it needed to do, although the painted houses at the back of the stage and the scene painted into the window of the kitchen seemed very childlike and slightly jarred with the strong, emotional drama taking place on stage. Lighting was sensitively done although the follow spots were very distracting as they ‘clonked’ on and then aimed and focused. Maybe a few specials would have created smoother transitions. Costumes were well chosen for the era and characters

It is hard to pick out individual performances as all of the principals did a great job with what was very hard material. However, Ginger (Ben Durham) made me smile, what a lovely character and so well portrayed. Thomas Malloy (Max Birkin) was very sinister and the scene where he spoke of his death and was resigned to what was going to happen was quite chilling. Emily Di-Silvestro brought a beautiful,  innocent quietness to the stage and the scene leading to Gingers death when she finally got to kiss the boy she had been eyeing up and the scene following his death were very touchingly done. The comedic touches brought by Lee Birkin as the priest were very welcome and very well played.

The choreography in this show was both complicated and stylised which added greatly to the overall performance. Care needs to be taken, however, to ensure that the ‘background’ choreography doesn’t detract from the main action. I thought the football match was brilliantly executed and the scene in the prison, with the combination of strong choreography and stark lighting, created just the right feeling.

This was a hard show to watch but I certainly appreciated the hours of work that had gone into it. Well done to all involved.

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