And Did Those Feet - Octagon, Bolton - 02/10/07
YOU can smell the chips, and hear the clogs, in this breath-takingly clever world premiere.
The only things missing are the liniment, or a slice of orange at half time. For this is the story of Bolton Wanderers' 1923 Cup Final triumph, told through the lives of half a dozen or so characters in the build-up to that famous Wembley White Horse moment.
And don't imagine for one second that you need to be a football supporter, or more especially a Trotters fan, to appreciate it all.
Two Bolton academics - Les Smith and Martin Thomasson - have fashioned a story that transcends all of that, with an intensely-moving and brilliantly-funny narrative that captures the power and passion of soccer in apparently simpler times.
Indeed it audaciously sets the story against post-war society and a time of political unrest and manages to juggle themes of social and economic change with ease.
The Octagon fields a Premiership cast, with several star strikers in the roles of Bob (Martin Barrass), Hilda (Susan Twist) and Alf (James Quinn). Barrass can cross a comedy pass to perfection, while Twist and Quinn combine up front with a moment of heart-aching drama that draws its own crowd applause.
Quinn's matchday monologue, linked with the Blake hymn that gives the play its title, leaves those on the terraces in tears.
Naturally it helps that it is playing here with an exuberant home crowd, but it would be a shame if a play as good as this remained simply a local triumph.
Just see it before October 20.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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