Jumpers for Goalposts, Bush Theatre

Rising star Tom Wells has conjured up some unlikely romantic heroes in his latest play about a gay five-a-side football team from his home town of Hull. In an effort to turn the tables, he has one token straight guy as opposed to the other way round.

This heart-warming play about friendship and competition follows on from his breakthrough production, The Kitchen Sink, which won him the George Devine Award for Most Promising Playwright in 2012 as well as a nomination at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards.

 Wells has been credited with having a turn of phrase “reminiscent of Alan Bennett” ( Alfred Hickling, The Guardian ) – no small praise – whilst his self-deprecating humour and stoic realism have delighted critics. In Jumpers for Goalposts , he draws on personal experience: one of the players in the aptly named Barely Athletic team, Geoff , is beaten up for being gay, just as Wells was while he was writing the play. The world is, he says, “a bit more homophobic than you realise if you are straight” .

It was something of a coup for Wells to persuade one of the most recognisable voices in British broadcasting, the BBC’s recently retired James Alexander Gordon, to read out the results for Tranny United and Barely Athletic before each scene. According to Wells, “he absolutely took it seriously”.

The play has been travelling around the country with the touring company Paines Plough, picking up four and five star reviews along the way. Its arrival at the Bush Theatre is a homecoming of sorts for Wells,for it was here that The Kitchen Sink received critical acclaim two years ago. Let’s hope Jumpers for Goalposts enjoys the same success.

Tickets:

Adults - £19 / Seniors - £15/ Student or under 26 - £12 / Disabled - £12 / Unemployed - £12

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