The United Kingdom is home to some of the world’s most avid football fans. Football is taken so seriously that there are even ‘firms’ that clash with each other over their team rivalries. The U.K. is also home to some of the world’s best theatre culture. The West End is considered to be the mecca of live theatre with people from all over the world traveling to London to see the actors go to work. So what happens if you put the two together? Football plus theatre, equals Billy the Kid. A version of the play was recorded at the Unicorn Theatre in London and is now available to stream.
Billy the Kid is a short piece, and stars just two actors. Sam and Billy are played by, at the time newly graduated Sam Donovan, and veteran thespian Dudley Sutton.
One is young, the other old, but both in love with football. Their love for the game is steeped in different reasoning however. Billy, who is much older, loves the game simply because he loves the game. It’s very dear to him in more ways than just for sport. Sam on the other hand hopes to reap the benefits of the potential fame and wealth that can come from becoming a professional footballer. As their time together progresses, Billy’s past comes clearer into clarity. The actors together participate in a number of flashback scenes that show why Billy feels so strongly about his attachment to what he feels, is the greatest game ever invented.
The play, whether by choice or original design, is very minimal in scope. The set resembles a small park area with a bench and brick wall with a goal drawn onto it. Technically speaking there’s a bit more to it, mostly in the lighting design. Most of the work is bestowed upon the actors who are charged with making the most out of their space and text. That said, they do. The two players do well enough to make the two characters as relatable as possible. Donovan is discourteous and arrogant as Sam, whereas Sutton is somewhat senile yet innocent and naïve when playing his younger self. Sam Donovan has the big job of playing the extra characters from Billy’s past but he’s able to switch dialects, tone of voice and physicality without too much trouble. The story itself, which director Tony Graham adapted from the original novel by Michael Morpurgo, makes for an interesting play that football fans and the youth of England should be able to enjoy.
Not a spectacle, and not earth shattering, but it is satisfying enough for a night at the theatre. The actors work exceedingly efficient at enhancing the love that most Brits feel for football. This of course doesn’t exclude other football fans of the world, but Billy the Kid was very clearly written for a select audience. Digital Theatre has a version of this piece on their website, so if plans are scarce on Thursday night just point, click, and enjoy.
