But though homosexuality in football may be the headline grabber, especially in these post-Hitzlsperger times, Donnelly is just as interested in exploring the corrosive effects that accompanies the leap into superstardom for the lucky few. As the play jumps forward seven years, and then another five, we see Jason’s career goes stratospheric whilst Ade’s languishes, but professional success comes at personal cost – especially in the strait-laced world of the beautiful game – as we see just how far Jason is willing to go to protect his position.
John Tiffany directs a vibrantly fluid production upstairs at the Royal Court, which features a fair bit of his customary movement style in the scene changes but, as the pictures indicate, contains a lot of more of Russell Tovey’s flesh – this is very much a feast for the eyes if that’s your kind of thing. But the writing also has much to commend it – some viciously dark humour early on feels entirely age-appropriate and Jason’s steely-eyed determination feels rooted in a place of great truth (indeed to date, no current professional footballer is openly gay).
