The Stage

Sing Yer Heart Out For The Lads

Published Thursday 28 September 2006 at 15:00 by Kevin Berry

Roy Williams’ already forthright examination of what it means to be English is given uncompromising treatment by Pilot Theatre.

Bazzer is the star striker for the King George pub team but Bazzer is black and he is only tolerated because of his skill. Players and various others are assembling in front of the pub television. They are preparing to cheer England against Germany in the last match at Wembley.

There is a violent racist in the team, played with seething anger and some insight by Tim Treloar. An already sour atmosphere soon worsens. The language is raw but honest, as is the humour. Everyone in the pub feels threatened and director Marcus Romer has the tension as tight as it should be.

Peter Bankole’s playing of Bazzer is exemplary. The gradual realisation of how he is perceived by his team mates is played with admirable control. Mikey North is a comic then tragic contrast as a young white boy seeking acceptance by black friends. There are no weak spots in this cast. Mark Monero is prominent as Bazzer’s brother and Deka Walmsley, as a far right organiser, is persistently unsettling.

Emma Donovan’s set is a formidable structure, complete with a substantial, rolled on gents’ lavatory. The theatre becomes a pub and the audience is steadily drawn in. This really is confrontational drama.

With a cast of 14, this production is the biggest in Pilot Theatre’s history and it marks the company’s 25th anniversary. Congratulations to all concerned.