'The way they're changing endz is nuts.'

Red Pitch. South London. Three lifelong friends Omz, Bilal and Joey are playing football. Like they always have. Living out dreams of football stardom. Beyond their football pitch, local shops are closing, old flats are being demolished as new flats shoot up, some residents struggle to stay while others rush to leave.

When your local football pitch has been a home from home, a place where you've laughed, fought and forged friendships, what happens when it's under threat?

A coming-of-age story about what it means to belong somewhere, Tyrell Williams' fast-paced and sharp-edged play tells a powerful story about gentrification, regeneration and the impact of this relentless change on London's communities.

Red Pitch was first performed at the Bush Theatre, London, in February 2022, directed by Associate Artistic Director Daniel Bailey. It went on to win the 2022 George Devine Award and Best New Play at the 2023 OffWestEnd Awards. Tyrell Williams was named Best Writer at the 2022 Stage Debut Awards, as well as winning the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright at the 2022 Evening Standard Theatre Awards and Most Promising Playwright at the 2023 Critics' Circle Theatre Awards.

An earlier version of the play was presented in June 2019, as part of the Untold Season at Ovalhouse, London.

About the Author

Tyrell Williams is a writer and director who was on the BAFTA Elevate scheme and a Broadcast Hotshot. His viral web series #HoodDocumentary has had over three million views on YouTube.

Reviews

'Fierce, affectionate and effortlessly funny'

* Guardian *

'90 minutes of end-to-end stuff... the plot is pacy and exciting. The language is rich and vivid. It's also very funny... It's still rare to see a play about young, black, working-class youths on our stages: rarer still to see one in which they are celebrated like this'

* Evening Standard *

'Intelligent, nuanced - an unbelievable debut... phenomenal... true mastery of craft. It's a next-level coming-of-age story'

* The Stage *

'Sharp, funny and deeply poignant... feels wholly authentic... an eloquent love letter to our increasingly threatened public spaces... Tyrell Williams is a rising talent of the first rank. Theatre needs voices like his'

* Whatsonstage *

'A triumphant take on flux and football in a fast-changing south London neighbourhood'

* Independent *

'An absolute cracker... Williams takes the simplest of situations and uses it to paint a brilliant but bleak picture of the trials of growing up in south London... Huge themes bubble through its smart, overlapping dialogue... what is so wonderful about Red Pitch is that the teenagers are written so richly that they don't represent a type or an aspiration. The plot is tight, but never schematic. Their reality makes their plight all the more moving... a play that is set to become a classic'

* WhatsOnStage (2023) *

'Beautifully crafted... it manages to feel hugely meaningful while relatively little happens... it's hard not to imagine that for Williams, the theatrical Premier League beckons after this debut that's both zeitgeisty and timelessly humane'

* Time Out *

'Exceptional... masterful... a remarkably nuanced play that, through a loveable everyday story, wholly captures what it is to be a 16-year-old, football-mad teen... a must-see'

* Culture Whisper *

'Electrifying... fuelled by adrenaline... the characters feel authentic and real... great entertainment built on the strong foundations of specific issue-led theatre... a beautiful, thought-provoking tapestry of topical themes'

* Broadway World *


Awards
Winner of Best New Play, OffWestEnd Awards 2023 and Best Writer, Stage Debut Awards 2022 and George Devine Award 2022 and Most Promising Playwright, Critics' Circle Theatre Awards 2023 and Most Promising Playwright, Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2022.



Book Information
ISBN 9781839040610
Author Tyrell Williams
Format Paperback
Page Count 88
Imprint Nick Hern Books
Publisher Nick Hern Books
Weight(grams) 101g