A NE theatre company, Cranked Anvil, is looking for stories from Sunderland football fans.
“Our new play, Wise Men Say, will be a celebration of Sunderland’s 20 years at the Stadium of Light,” says writer and director Paul Dunn, “and we’re looking for fans to share their experiences to do with the stadium.
“Your tale can be funny, sad, heart-warming, jaw-dropping—we want to hear them all. And it can focus on anything: memories of particular matches—were you at the first ever game against Ajax? (Or the last ever match at Roker Park?) What about the amazing ‘six in a row’? Do you have a story around seeing a concert at the Stadium of Light? Were you a builder involved in its construction? Did you have your wedding reception there? Whatever your tale, we want to read it!”
Cranked Anvil will also be publishing a book and all the stories featured in the production—plus many more—will be part of it.
Three years ago, the company presented Tom Kelly’s play I Left My Heart in Roker Park about a fanatical Sunderland fan, to significant success.
“It was so popular,” Dunn adds, “that we ended up having to double the amount of shows we performed, and were even asked back to the Customs House in South Shields the following month to do another by popular demand.
“The audiences were phenomenal, and the Sunderland fans who came—many of which had never been to the theatre before—were some of the best I’ve ever had in any show.
“I can’t wait to do this new one!”
The other play in the double bill is Cornered, written by the BBC’s Jeff Brown. It tells the story of Dave Corner and the fateful day in 1985 when the 18-year-old stepped out onto the hallowed turf at Wembley to play for his beloved Sunderland in the Milk Cup against Norwich—and ended up being the most hated man in Sunderland for his error on the pitch which gave Norwich the goal and cost ‘the Lads’ the cup.
The plays will tour to Durham’s Gala Theatre, the Customs House in South Shields, Washington Arts Centre, the newly-opened Peacock in Sunderland (formerly the Londonderry and now part of the MAC Quarter), as well as touring to London to the South East Supporters Branch.
If you’ve got a story about the Stadium of Light to tell, e-mail Cranked Anvil at [email protected].