Viva. The Beautiful Game.
The Beautiful Game - Union Theatre, London, 23rd April, 2014
Having lived in Dublin myself for several years until 2003 and having visited Belfast I do not know how often during these years I kinda got some basic impression what life must have been in the peak times of the riots.

And while me living in Dublin Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Ben Elton's (book) musical “The Beautiful Game” was first seen at the Cambridge Theatre in London where it received rather mixed reviews and ran for less than a year which I never saw.
In 2009 a reworked version with a new title “The Boys in the Photograph” directed by Elton opened in Canada but there were nothing else really since then.
In 2009 a reworked version with a new title “The Boys in the Photograph” directed by Elton opened in Canada but there were nothing else really since then.
Now in 2014 the Union Theatre brings the show on stage, though while using the original title, it is apparently closer to the revised version with the new more uplifting ending.
Cast:
Niamh Perry – Mary
Ben Kerr – John
Stephen Barry – Del
Daniella Bowen – Christine
Freddie Rogers – Thomas
Will Jeffs – Daniel
Alan McHale – Ginger
Natalie Douglas – Bernadette
Carl McCrystal - Father O’Donnell
Ensemble:
Tom Brandon-Farrell, Leigh Lothian, Shane McDaid, Joanna O’Hare and Charlie Royce
The story is set amid the troubles in Northern Ireland, in Belfast to be exact, during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Cast:
Niamh Perry – Mary
Ben Kerr – John
Stephen Barry – Del
Daniella Bowen – Christine
Freddie Rogers – Thomas
Will Jeffs – Daniel
Alan McHale – Ginger
Natalie Douglas – Bernadette
Carl McCrystal - Father O’Donnell
Ensemble:
Tom Brandon-Farrell, Leigh Lothian, Shane McDaid, Joanna O’Hare and Charlie Royce
The story is set amid the troubles in Northern Ireland, in Belfast to be exact, during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The main plot is of the star of the team John Kelly, who has a chance to become a pro in England, his love interest Mary and their relationship over a few years with sub plots as the relationship between Del, the only protestant on the team, though he insists that he is an atheist, and Catholic Christine and a subtle love story between Ginger and Bernadette which ends too quickly after Ginger is killed.
The whole Northern Ireland troubles play a part in the show as well as when John helps another member of the team, Thomas, who has joined the IRA to escape over the border he is detained and becomes politicised being surrounded by IRA men. Once John is released he has to decide on what is important for him in life...
Further information on the plot:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beautiful_Game_(musical)
The basic story is most interesting, but the result of the show is actually disappointing as it tries to be too much for me trying to tell of too many subjects and can hardly ever do justice to all in the book
Especially act 2 while the actual production's pace is good the book is totally overloaded with events and time wasted on scenes so unneeded or way too long as John and Mary's wedding night when there are much more important things to be told - I e.g. totally missed a more profound fathoming of John's development in prison especially what broke him to fall so deep.
Yes, there are some brilliant scenes in the show as when the subject is on camaraderie, but then there are also others when I could not help wondering why they never cut it when rewriting the book.
What also does not help are the too often banal trite lyrics and dialogues full of platitudes and clichés and the music is a strange mix of various musical styles that hardly ever really works for me.
Yes there are some beautiful songs in it but it all seemed like several melodies ALW ever came up with thrown in a bucket and a dozen drawn out of it to become part of the show and not particularly written for that show - and with ALW recycling songs in other shows so that they have to be cut from the original show as it is the case with the song "Our Kind Of Love", now part of Love Never Dies" I would not be surprised that is really the case how he works these days.
Saying that the actual production though is well done directed by Lotte Wakeham with a good eye for details.
I was particularly impressed with the traversed staging in that small venue fully utilising the premise of the Union Theatre underlining the separation both in football and in religion/politics so that for the football scenes you feel like being in a stadium watching the players, with all the performers not part of the teams standing behind the audience, quickly turning into the dangerous streets of Belfast with one barricade and barbed wire at one end (behind which the 5 piece band is "hidden"), a white line in the middle of the room and graffiti all over the place (set design by David Shields
A few versatile wooden benches are quickly becoming church pews, a bed, even a coffin..
Not only staged well by also choreographed well by Tim Jackson are particularly the football match scenes as "The Final" being thrilling and energetic (and yes, I have been to football matches before - after all I live in Hamburg, home of one of the best football teams in the world (best not in regards to performance though ;-) - the FC St. Pauli), the menacing dark atmospheric streets of Belfast or the prison scene.
The cast is also full of talents with especially Daniella Bowen as the sassy flirty Christine impressing me with her play and her incredible powerful singing voice and she works wonderfully with her counterpart , the handsome Stephen Barry as Del, having a lot of sparkling chemistry and their duet "Born In Belfast" is fantastically performed (even if the actual number is a bit blah).
Slightly stealing the show for is Natalie Douglas the shy, a bit awkward Bernadette who has with Alan McHale as the geeky Ginger the most probably the most genuine heart-melting number in the show having been given in the rewrite "Love In Peace".
Will Jeffs as wide boy Daniel regularly cracked me up with his poignant delivery of his lines, even if full of stereotypes, being sharp and witty, and Freddie Rogers's performance as Thomas is edgy, compelling and believable when he turns into an IRA terrorist just his singing is a bit off.
Carl McCrystal is a strong, very present Father O’Donnell and the ensemble, especially Joanna O’Hare, is uniformly emotive and gripping.
The two leads though are not as convincing as I wished them to be.
Reviews for Niamh Perry as Mary were largely positive and while she showed off the grown up mature Mary in act 2's dramatic scenes perfectly I did not believe Mary's falling for John in act 1, not that I felt much chemistry between them with the other two couples being such strong combinations, and I also never felt the emotions her character goes through the show in her singing also sounding strained occasionally (not a fan of her voice in general anywhere sounding too strident for me).
At her side as John is Ben Kerr who has a strong spirited singing voice, even if lacking emotions, but there is just so much "doe eyes"-ing and not much beyond I can bear.
As the star of the football team that may be acceptable still being so young, so innocent, but when he is in prison and later released it is so wrong.
The accents in general are a bit of a hit and miss. Apparently the accent coach Eamon Haughian was hired but having been to Belfast so often knowing what the accents sounds like it sounded occasionally not just forced and regularly the odd natural accent came through - sometimes just one word, but even that bugged me - though that is just me again who loves to nitpick. ;-)
The whole Northern Ireland troubles play a part in the show as well as when John helps another member of the team, Thomas, who has joined the IRA to escape over the border he is detained and becomes politicised being surrounded by IRA men. Once John is released he has to decide on what is important for him in life...
Further information on the plot:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beautiful_Game_(musical)
The basic story is most interesting, but the result of the show is actually disappointing as it tries to be too much for me trying to tell of too many subjects and can hardly ever do justice to all in the book
Especially act 2 while the actual production's pace is good the book is totally overloaded with events and time wasted on scenes so unneeded or way too long as John and Mary's wedding night when there are much more important things to be told - I e.g. totally missed a more profound fathoming of John's development in prison especially what broke him to fall so deep.
Yes, there are some brilliant scenes in the show as when the subject is on camaraderie, but then there are also others when I could not help wondering why they never cut it when rewriting the book.
What also does not help are the too often banal trite lyrics and dialogues full of platitudes and clichés and the music is a strange mix of various musical styles that hardly ever really works for me.
Yes there are some beautiful songs in it but it all seemed like several melodies ALW ever came up with thrown in a bucket and a dozen drawn out of it to become part of the show and not particularly written for that show - and with ALW recycling songs in other shows so that they have to be cut from the original show as it is the case with the song "Our Kind Of Love", now part of Love Never Dies" I would not be surprised that is really the case how he works these days.
Saying that the actual production though is well done directed by Lotte Wakeham with a good eye for details.
I was particularly impressed with the traversed staging in that small venue fully utilising the premise of the Union Theatre underlining the separation both in football and in religion/politics so that for the football scenes you feel like being in a stadium watching the players, with all the performers not part of the teams standing behind the audience, quickly turning into the dangerous streets of Belfast with one barricade and barbed wire at one end (behind which the 5 piece band is "hidden"), a white line in the middle of the room and graffiti all over the place (set design by David Shields
A few versatile wooden benches are quickly becoming church pews, a bed, even a coffin..
Not only staged well by also choreographed well by Tim Jackson are particularly the football match scenes as "The Final" being thrilling and energetic (and yes, I have been to football matches before - after all I live in Hamburg, home of one of the best football teams in the world (best not in regards to performance though ;-) - the FC St. Pauli), the menacing dark atmospheric streets of Belfast or the prison scene.

Slightly stealing the show for is Natalie Douglas the shy, a bit awkward Bernadette who has with Alan McHale as the geeky Ginger the most probably the most genuine heart-melting number in the show having been given in the rewrite "Love In Peace".
Will Jeffs as wide boy Daniel regularly cracked me up with his poignant delivery of his lines, even if full of stereotypes, being sharp and witty, and Freddie Rogers's performance as Thomas is edgy, compelling and believable when he turns into an IRA terrorist just his singing is a bit off.
Carl McCrystal is a strong, very present Father O’Donnell and the ensemble, especially Joanna O’Hare, is uniformly emotive and gripping.
The two leads though are not as convincing as I wished them to be.
Reviews for Niamh Perry as Mary were largely positive and while she showed off the grown up mature Mary in act 2's dramatic scenes perfectly I did not believe Mary's falling for John in act 1, not that I felt much chemistry between them with the other two couples being such strong combinations, and I also never felt the emotions her character goes through the show in her singing also sounding strained occasionally (not a fan of her voice in general anywhere sounding too strident for me).
At her side as John is Ben Kerr who has a strong spirited singing voice, even if lacking emotions, but there is just so much "doe eyes"-ing and not much beyond I can bear.
As the star of the football team that may be acceptable still being so young, so innocent, but when he is in prison and later released it is so wrong.
The accents in general are a bit of a hit and miss. Apparently the accent coach Eamon Haughian was hired but having been to Belfast so often knowing what the accents sounds like it sounded occasionally not just forced and regularly the odd natural accent came through - sometimes just one word, but even that bugged me - though that is just me again who loves to nitpick. ;-)
Benjamin Holder (musical director with Tom Kelly as musical supervisor) leads the bands tightly supporting the ensemble perfectly and making the best out of ALW's material.
Overall the productions is worth a visit for its direction concept and its cast overcoming the still very flawed book.
Give the book to someone else but Ben Elton to rewrite it then there is a chance to turn it into something that may work on stage at some point.
Pictures taken from http://www.uniontheatre.biz/#/the-beautiful-game/4582766891