An open set (Lee Ward) greets one with a central space having a befitting goal net allowing two entrances left and right. Adi (Jason Njoroge) the footballer's flat is to the left and Vicky’s (Hannah Marie Davis) to the right, a wooden bench taking central stage—simple but effective.
While on the surface a play about a footballer’s experiences, this has so many more layers. It is a story about relationships, racism, love, business, loneliness, poverty, survival and connection. As Adi’s manager, Mike (David Nellist), says, “football is the greatest game in the world, especially when you win”, and that is what life is about for Mike, winning, especially where money is concerned; Adi thinks the exact opposite. He goes to the park to escape all the dishonesty and prejudice he experiences and meets his soulmate, Vicky, on a bench and their relationship develops. She is an unemployed single parent with a dying mother and, although from completely different worlds, they eventually find they have a great deal in common.
The couple establish a great connection. Nijoroge displays a huge range of emotion, going from superb comic timing to a particularly harrowing exposure which has the theatre frozen with its intensity. He is complemented by Davis’s strong performance, hitting the right note with every exchange.
This tender relationship is brilliantly offset by Nellist, who portrays his cutting, self-centred character with a heartless precision and humour. On the other side, Becs’s (Abigail Lawson) character provides a comic relief from the tension in her interaction with friend Vicky; what are friends for? Dan Howe plays a variety of characters convincingly to complete the strong cast. This is a sharp, crisp production which flows along. A simple green light (Philip Hodgson) on the rear net suggests ‘park’, while all the bench needs are two cushions to establish ‘flat’. These transitions are effortlessly executed with actors setting and striking as they go—often, less is more.
An award-winning sports reporter, Brown, a journalist since 1985, covering sport for nearly 40 years, recently recorded a new podcast of sporting greats, plus, this being his second play, he is not one to sit back on the bench. Apart from his love of football and parks, he has personal contact with care homes, so the subjects are well researched, which is evident in the content, a ‘bench’ mark of good writing.
The Bench is supported by the North East Combined Authority and Show Racism the Red Card, the UK’s leading anti-racism educational charity. Brown said if his play “can help change attitudes, it will have achieved much more than I could ever have dreamed”.
I rarely revisit a new play, certainly after such a short time—I saw its première in 2023—but it is well worth a second visit. A well written story, well produced and acted, involving you on many levels as well as being entertaining, is a rare commodity. There are laugh out loud, hilarious moments to periods of such intense emotion one can feel the tension in the silence. As I said previously, this is an endearing story that opens your eyes to more than the world of football. I also think a title tells you much about a play; I particularly like this one as it is not only the park bench, but the players' bench where they sit waiting to be called, a little like some people’s lives.
The Bench is a delight to watch and in a lovely theatre. The local tour is at 17 venues with 29 performances, so every chance to see it is well worthwhile. For anyone who is a lover of theatre and even those who are not, this play is a must-see.