Red Pitch: A Love Letter to Football, Friendship and Ends
Omz, Bilal and Joey play football like they always have on their beloved Red Pitch. Three lifelong friends putting in the work that they hope will propel them towards their dreams of football stardom. Beyond the lines of their football pitch, gentrification inches forward as local shops close down and flats are demolished for new builds that the boys and their family wouldn’t be able to afford. It’s against this tumultuous and unsteady backdrop, then, that the boys’ friendship is put to the test during football trials. Directed by Bush Theatre Associate Artistic Director Daniel Bailey (The High Table), Tyrell Williams’ fast-paced and sharp-edged new play has kicked off to a much-deserved roaring crowd of reviews.
Williams has accomplished a confident and electric theatrical debut in Red Pitch, with a trademark humour reminiscent of his hilarious and much-loved viral web series #HoodDocumentary. The writing is unapologetic in its centering of Blackness and inner-city Black experiences, and the script comes to life with smart direction from Bailey’s energetic staging which sees the actors playfully kicking ball with members of the audience, immediately immersing us in a wonderfully rambunctious, boyish world. This effortless and playful interaction helps keep the audience engaged throughout the 90 minute run. The brilliance of the movement direction from Dickson Mbi cannot be overstated also – the actors were clearly self-assured in their football manoeuvres, only adding to the authenticity felt throughout the play.
But it’s the actors Kedar Williams-Stirling (Sex Education) Francis Lovehall (Small Axe: Lovers Rock) and Emeka Sesay (David Copperfield) who really shine throughout with an electric infusion of their lively characters on the stage. Between them they manage to effortlessly capture the language, mood and inner world of teenage boyhood. Managing not only to encapsulate the realities of gentrification and instability, but also perfectly capture the innocence of these young teenagers as they handle the loss of the ends they once knew. As their estate is torn down and their community is rehoused to different boroughs or even outside of London, the three friends discuss the violent impact of gentrication; considering their other friends and wondering if they’ll see them as regularly. They attempt to organise farewell get-togethers but end up waiting for their departing friends, like Godot, who never show up. In this way the boys learn to grapple with the changing landscape of their area in different ways, passing through multiple stages of grief, from denial, anger to eventually begrudging acceptance as they realise there’s nothing they can do to fight it. Williams, nevertheless, excels at finding the comedy within these hard times – the boys lament that their local Morley’s has become a Costa Coffee – a canary in the coalmine for gentrification disguised as regeneration to those in the know.
‘…the boys learn to grapple with the changing landscape of their area in different ways, passing through multiple stages of grief… Williams, nevertheless, excels at finding the comedy within these hard times – the boys lament that their local Morley’s has become a Costa Coffee - a canary in the coalmine for gentrification disguised as regeneration to those in the know.’
The boys’ friendship is undoubtedly the emotional core of this three-hander, as the characters navigate their way through life. Joey – the practical peace-making one – is the common ground between Omz and Bilal who are equally as stubborn and sure of themselves in their football ability. The two often occupy opposite ends of the stage, illustrating their verbal tennis bickering in three dimensions. They argue and fight explosively in an intimate way that only lifelong friends are able to. And like brothers, they make up and apologise without ever actually saying the words sorry - as adolescent masculinity has been trained to do – yet these awkward and realistic displays of affection are what make them so endearing.
Like a lot of football and football media, this dazzling debut is about more than just the game; the football provides a backdrop against which to explore themes of Black men’s friendships, coming of age narratives and what it means to belong in a shifting place. Imbued with tenderness and warmth, Red Pitch is yet another love letter to endz in the face of its encroaching challenges – everyone involved in its creation is a name to remember.
RED PITCH
Written by Tyrell Williams
Directed by Daniel Bailey
Cast – Kedar Williams-Stirling, Emeka Sesay, and Francis Lovehall
16 February – 26 March 2022