The English Game
Headlong Theatre create a hilarious mix of sport and comedy …
Headlong Theatre in association with Guildford’s Yvonne Arnaud theatre
The English Game
By Richard Bean
Directed by Sean Holmes
The Lowry, Tue 24 – Sat 28 June 2008
Press Night: Tue 24 June, 8pm
Cricket and politics collide in Richard Bean’s dazzling new play, The English Game, a funny and vivid exploration of the modern British psyche. Seen through the lens of a simple game of cricket, play will commence at The Lowry on Tue 24 June.
The Nightwatchmen are an amateur London cricket team who make up for in enthusiasm, what they lack in ability. As they gather on a sunny Sunday afternoon to face Bernard and his squad, they while away the hours smoking cigarettes, drinking lots of tea and discussing life, love, politics and the correct interpretation of the LBW rule.
At once brilliantly comic, true and touching, The English Game is a revealing dissection of the political and social tensions which underpin our society and what it means to be English in 2008. Richard Bean is one of Britain’s most acclaimed writers. His award-winning plays include Harvest, The God-Botherers and Toast. The English Game sees him reunited with Sean Holmes, who directed The Mentalists at the National Theatre.
Headlong Theatre returns to The Lowry following their successful epic production of Angels in America.
“Bean's play is both wildly entertaining and strangely moving… You do not have to be a cricket nut to relish the play. 4 stars” The Guardian
Posted on Wednesday, 28 May 2008 under Press Theatre Press