Another sporting hero gets Nottingham Playhouse treatment

Published: 29 September 2012
Reporter: Steve Orme

Diary of a Football Nobody

Nottingham Playhouse will turn into Meadow Lane this week when a new play by William Ivory will attempt to show what it was like to play football at Notts County in the 1970s.

Diary of a Football Nobody is based on former Notts County player David McVay’s memoir Steak…Diana Ross: Diary of a Football Nobody.

It “transports audiences to a bygone age of football when the beautiful game was defined as much by its booze and bust-ups as the results on the field”.

William Ivory, a staunch County supporter, also wrote the screenplay for the BAFTA-nominated film Made in Dagenham, the TV adaptation of D H Lawrence’s Women in Love and most recently the BBC One drama Bert and Dickie.

After hanging up his boots David McVay worked for the Nottingham Evening Post newspaper and now writes for The Times.

Eric Richard, who was Sergeant Bob Cryer in The Bill for 17 years, plays legendary Notts County manager Jimmy Sirrel.

Long Eaton-based Perry Fitzpatrick, who trained at Nottingham Television Workshop and appeared in Shane Meadows’ This is England ‘86 takes the role of David McVay.

The cast also includes Nottingham-born Sophia Di Martino and Luke Gell.

Matt Aston directs. Design is by Barney George, musical direction and composition by Damian Coldwell and lighting design by Mark Pritchard.

Nottingham Playhouse’s artistic director Giles Croft said, “Following on from Stephen Lowe’s Old Big ‘Ead in The Spirit of the Man about Brian Clough and Michael Pinchbeck’s The Ashes about (Nottinghamshire cricketer) Harold Larwood, Diary of a Football Nobody forms the third part of our trilogy about Nottingham sporting heroes written by Nottingham writers.”

William Ivory added, “I think we’ve achieved something special with this play as we’ve taken inspiration from some of the key events in the 1973-75 period at Meadow Lane, capturing both the dressing-room banter and drama of the beautiful game.

“There were many larger-than-life personalities at that time and they positively shine on the stage with energy, humour and warmth in a way that will delight football and theatre fans alike.”

Diary of a Football Nobody coincides with Notts County’s 150th anniversary and runs from Friday (5 October) until Saturday, 20 October. Press night is Tuesday, 9 October.

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