This is Patrick Marber’s first new play in nine years and sees him back at the National Theatre, where in the Nineties he had hits with Dealer’s Choice and Closer. Now he plunges us into the tatty but proud world of non-league football — one he knows well, having recently been instrumental in saving the ailing Sussex club Lewes FC.
Although it lovingly evokes the rituals of the changing room, this isn’t really a play about the beautiful game. Instead it’s a tragi-comic vision of masculinity and tribalism. The red lion of the title is the emblem of the unnamed club, tattooed above the heart of Yates (Peter Wight), a loyal former player who serves as kit man and masseur.
Over three Saturdays we see him fighting for the club’s soul with gobby manager Kidd (Daniel Mays). Though Kidd is full of ambition and macho postures, vulnerability lurks beneath. A cast of three is completed by Calvin Demba, playing potential star Jordan, who might make their fortunes — or cause their downfall.
Far removed from the glitz of the Premier League, though not so remote from the dubious practices of Fifa, these men’s lives are lonely and compromised, and Ian Rickson’s finely balanced production highlights their co-dependency.
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So, has Marber played a blinder? Not quite. The first half is a little sluggish, and the second contains overly sentimental moments. But there’s some gorgeously crafted writing and potent performances. Mays is thrillingly volatile, Wight both grim and romantic, and Demba, best known from Hollyoaks, is a revelation, poised and charismatic.
Until September 30; nationaltheatre.org.uk
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