Red Pitch – Bush Theatre, London

A review of Red Pitch, a new play by Tyrell Williams at the Bush Theatre. Contemporary, funny and generous, this energetic production is a great effort by a talented team.

Red Pitch

I don’t know quite what I expected from a coming of age play about football, friendship and gentrification. But by the (figurative) final whistle at 90 minutes, I was caught up in a story which is by turns insightful, big-hearted, and very funny. Red Pitch is the first full-length play by Tyrell Williams, and is on at London’s Bush Theatre until 26 March.

Red Pitch is the story of three teenage friends. Firstly there’s Omz (Francis Lovehall), a young carer for his grandad and brother. Bilal (Kedar Williams-Stirling) is the serious one when it comes to football – the expectations from his father, who once had a shot with Leyton Orient, are high. And Joey (Emeka Sesay) is the thoughtful one. The one who thinks – just maybe – they should have a backup plan in case they don’t all end up as professional footballers. They spend their spare time practicing at Red Pitch, a local football pitch with its own history, lore and rituals.

What Red Pitch does brilliantly is to create a realistic friendship between the three. That type of friendship you have when you’re young, you grew up together, and you’re figuring out what comes next. There are tensions, sure, but also that profound sense of really knowing each other and what makes each of you tick. In this case, however, the tensions are higher because of what is going on around them. The boys live in South London, on an estate that is being pulled down and rebuilt a building at a time. As is often the case, the improvements to the area aren’t going to benefit the local community. One by one, families are moving out. Including some of the characters and their friends.

Gentrification And Football

This backdrop is persistent throughout the play. As well as what is present in the dialogue itself, the action takes place against the rumbling of construction and protest noises. Omz, Bilal and Joey are frustrated by the building work; it distracts them from football practice, and represents unwelcome changes. But at the same time they daydream about making it big and buying property on ‘endz‘. I found it a really effective way of exploring what ‘improvements’, ‘regeneration’ and other forms of gentrification mean for local communities, who often don’t benefit.

But in the meantime the boys have more important things to worry about. Trials are coming up. And I should say here that Red Pitch is a very physical play. Between Movement Director Dickson Mbi (assisted by Brooke Milliner), Fight Director Kev McCurdy, and Football Consultant Aaron Samuel, that athletic teenage energy is perfectly captured. They spar, scrap, practice their ‘tekkers’, show off their ‘drop, drop shoulder’ moves that are going to wow the scouts.

The three young actors are at the top of their game, and handle the nuances of the story as well as the physical demands with ease. Lovehall as Omz is a tightly coiled spring, struggling to accept help with his difficult home situation. Williams-Stirling as Bilal finds a new perspective over the course of the 90 minutes, as he is forced to confront what he really wants versus the dreams that others have had for his life. And Sesay as Joey is charismatic and funny, ever the peacemaker between his friends but thinking about his own future too. All three actors have impressive credentials under their belts already, and I’m sure will go far.

A Fine Team Effort

What makes Red Pitch such a fine production, however, isn’t just the writing, the acting and the movement. It’s how the whole creative team has pulled together to create something rather special. The set, for instance, by Amelia Jane Hankin, is so clever. Part of the audience sits on stadium seating standing in for Red Pitch itself; the action takes place in the round like a football match. The lighting by Ali Hunter evokes the endless days and evenings the boys have spent here, as well as switching gears when, between scenes, the boys imagine future fame and glory on the pitch. The sound design by Khalil Madovi is atmospheric without being intrusive; do we even notice the protests drop away as the neighbourhood changes bit by bit? And with dramaturgy by Deirdre O’Halloran to keep the text tight, director Daniel Bailey brings out the best in the actors and creates a compelling experience. No wonder the audience was so enthusiastic.

So, much like footballers with a whole team of experts around them, Red Pitch works very well because everyone is on their game. It’s a pleasure to watch, and I hope for your sake that you get yourself a ticket. There are captioned, audio described and relaxed options available during the run.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 4/5

Red Pitch on until 26 March 2022