Review: RED PITCH, Bush Theatre

Photo credit: Helen Murray

Tyrell Williams’ blistering depiction of three teenage boys pursuing their dreams of football stardom in a world threatening to leave them behind is not just vivid and timely, but also genuinely funny and moving.

Joey, Omz and Bilal are 16, have lived on the same south London estate all their lives and while they differ in their backgrounds and personalities, they are singularly bound by a love of playing football together on Red Pitch. But, like on many post-war housing estates, times are changing, communities are being pulled apart and ‘regeneration’ is now an unstoppable inevitability.

Red Pitch refuses to shy away from the damaging effects of estate renewal, which is just policy speak for gentrification. “They way they’re changing endz is nuts” becomes not just a throwaway line but a running theme as, one-by-one, families depart their homes, chicken shops become Costas and the dry cleaners closes its doors for good.

The fictional Reedbury estate is by no means a unique story. Between 1997 and 2020, 161 demolition schemes in London forced at least 55,000 households to move out, according to a Housing Evidence report. The new developments are rarely affordable and families are forced to move further out, away from their communities and neighbours.

Red Pitch depicts this now familiar story through the eyes of three teenage boys who see making it as a footballer as the answer to their problems. If Jadon Sancho made the journey from Blue Park to Old Trafford, why not them as well?

Emeka Sesay (Joey) stands out for his deftness in shifting from the playful innocence of ribbing your best mates to having an undoubted wiseness beyond his years. He’s the only one with a proper back-up plan if trials don’t work out. Meanwhile, Francis Lovehall (Omz) and Kedar Williams-Stirling (Bilal) balance the trio with their incessant banter and, ultimately, tension.

It’s a truly captivating piece, punctuated with sound designer Khalil Madovi’s recurring drumbeat of construction work, reminding us of the estate’s regeneration but also the fracturing relationships within the friendship group. The football scenes are convincing, with all three actors looking comfortable on the ball (take note, Dear England), while the one fight scene is completely realistic and well directed.

Williams’ play is a celebration of black, working class youth culture. We do not see this portrayed often enough on the stage in London - a city boasting more than 1.1 million black people among its populace. Shout out the Bush Theatre for continuing to give a voice to new and vibrant stories at a time when others are all too reluctant to invest in original storytelling.

Red Pitch is a story that deserves to be told; it’s vibrant, it’s poignant but most of all it’s 90 minutes of authentic joy. It’s a show to be seen by a wider audience and fast.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Tom Ambrose

Red Pitch plays at Bush Theatre until 30 September, with further information here.