5 Star Reviews for The Giant Killers
Long Lane Theatre Company’s The Giant Killers is a David and Goliath tale from the birth of ‘the beautiful game’. A true story of how football was taken from a rich man’s pastime to the game of the people.
The mill workers that make up Darwen F.C. are as talented as they are passionate about football, but they are working men, playing a game invented by and for the upper classes. Largely forgotten by the history books, these underdogs fight their way to become the first working class men to compete in the FA Cup, but there are many injustices along the way as the men fight against social prejudice and down-right dirty tricks.
It’s clear from the opening moments that this is a work of quality, both in terms of writing and acting, and it’s clear that this play was originally written as a screenplay, it is easy to envision it on either the big or small screen. What is certain, is that it deserves a long life beyond the Fringe. What makes it stand apart is that there is depth to the storyline, this isn’t just a tale of the poor working man, there’s a story here of community and family that underpins the whole thing. There’s also a wonderfully three-dimensional female lead, foul-mouthed, spirited, independent and the match of any of the men.
Everybody loves an underdog, but that’s not the only reason to love this. The four-strong cast is impeccable and the writing and delivery builds excitement, creates pathos and enthrals from start to finish.
A real belter – and not just for footie fans.
Review from The Reviews Hub
Having had to run to the venue, and then discovering the show was on the top floor of the Rose Theatre, I sat down in the audience slightly out of sorts. Thankfully this crowd pleasing play was a real tonic and I quickly came absorbed in the lives of a group of Darwen locals who dared to challenge the accepted wisdom that Association Football was only for the landed gentry in the 1850s. With an enthusiastic mill owner’s son, an ambitious female club secretary and a mill worker who had developed association football skills in Glasgow, the town of Darwen took on ‘the toffs’ and competed for the FA Cup.
This play was not just about football as the team was a shining beacon of hope for the north of England when the mill towns struggled with civil unrest as mills closed and unemployment was always around the corner.
The revolving scenery on stage is a clever touch and keeps the action moving along briskly. You don’t have to like football to appreciate this play as the social history of the period is fascinating and the inequality felt at home is equally reflected on the pitch. Come prepared to climb a lot of stairs, but believe me it’s worth the effort.
Reviewed by Rona
Review from One4Review