Five amazingly energetic performances bring this football comedy to life.
It's set in two months' time, when three players from Laygate Industrial Mechanics and Public Conveniences United are joined by their manager and another player's partner on a trip to watch England play in the World Cup in Germany.
Stan, the manager, chnages from hero to zero, when after initially organising the trip, he keeps landing his fellow travellers in jail.
Stan is brilliantly porby the ever-excellent Bob Stott. His younger charges are played by Sean Kenney, Iain Cunningham, Wayne Miller and Jill Dellow. All the performers have to work hard in what is a very physical piece of theatre, but tey succeed in producing plenty of laughs. The Hakka routine, set to a disco tune, was a real delight.
The writing isn't subtle or sophisticated and some of the jokes don't come off, but the eager audience certainly enjoyed the opening night.
(Note: on the first Jill Dellow was understudying for Jackie Fielding who was in Bristol filming an episode of Casualty.)
Rob Lawson is editor of the Sunderland Echo, where this review first appeared. We are grateful to the Echo for permission to reprint it.