A powerful and educational theatre performance written in collaboration with the Hillsborough Support Alliance. Tom’s grandfather was a Hillsborough survivor, so the research and emotional connection were palpable. The Fringe Version was performed last year at The Liverpool Theatre Festival, and this is the newly penned Full-Length Version with new characters and Bill Elms as Co-Producer.

When I was first asked to review this play, initially I was filled with a huge sense of dread. I've heard a few stories about what happened in Hillsborough in 1989 but the stories I heard were usually tinted with football rivalry. I feared perhaps this meant I couldn't give this play the justice that it deserves, with as passionate a review as somebody who does have a strong personal connection with it. I was wrong!

An immersive, electrifying, and at times uncomfortable exploration of humanity and reality. With elements of gothic, science fiction, and children’s adventure stories woven within, this short play is acted by an energized and very talented under-19 cast of 12 in the wonderful and intimate studio space within the Playhouse. (Subsequently, only the first names of actors can be used in this piece).

Siobhan (Katie Wellman) and Ben (Jonathon Ali) are sitting at a table strewn with unfinished alcoholic drinks and a framed photograph we can only see the back of. Ben’s staid suit, complete with black tie, confirms that this is not a happy occasion. They raise a glass ‘to Sam’ before Siobhan bemoans the meagre turnout at the crematorium. Ben is more sanguine, citing people’s ‘busy lives’ for the poor showing at his younger brother’s funeral.