I played for Lewes FC a while back-late
1960s and early 70s. It was my first exposure to full non-league
football, the Athenian League, and the lads from East Sussex were
quite a decent side, playing at the famous Dripping Pan-an ancient
site where monks produced salt from the invading sea.
From listening to one of the erudite
Radio 4 programmes last night, I gathered that Patrick Marber is to
premiere his fifth play at the National Theatre, called the Red Lion,
an intimate play about a non-league, semi-pro team, and the ins and
outs of running a club based on the author's experiences at Lewes FC.
The young pretender arrives at the club
and is adopted by an ambitious manager. Lewes has had its ups and
downs too and obviously so do the heroes of the Red Lion. Marber was
on the board at Lewes for a while and helped the club get back on its
feet.
Marber, an Arsenal fan, moved to Sussex
with his wife, actress Debra Gillett, around the time that Lewes
faced bankruptcy in 2009. With a group of fellow supporters they
turned it into a community -owned club, like Barcelona.
Directed by Ian Rickson, the play is
also based on their experiences at Wingate and Finchley FC,
It is an haunting and humorous play,
set in a dressing room, about the dying romance of the great English
game. Check its dates in London and when it is likely to go into
the “sticks”.
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