Review: The Giant Killers (Wilton's Music Hall / UK Tour)

Review by Dan Sinclair

⭐️⭐️

Football and British culture are joined at the hip, and as screenwriter Arthur Hopcraft suggests ‘has more significance in the national character than theatre has.’ But not only this, it has especially been a huge part of the British working-class experience. It forms your identity, even if this is sitting confused eating a pack of salt and vinegar crisps in a pub whilst your dad screams at the TV on the wall (sorry dad, but it’s only now I’ve come round and enjoy watching football finally). The Giant Killers takes us back to 1870s Lancashire where this was not the case. Formerly a sport for all, it has been stolen and fenced off by the Etonian class. In their latest touring production, Long Lane Theatre present the true story of Darwen F.C and their battle to win the 1879 FA Cup, whilst sticking two fingers up to the system on the way. 

The Giant Killers gives us a play-by-play of this tournament. From humble beginnings, the team - run by Lucy Walsh (soon to be Lucy Kirkham) aspires to raise themselves and the mill town of Darwen to greater heights. Upon returning to the town, Robert Kirkham starts working at the mill and falls back in love with Lucy, his childhood sweetheart. The unions are fighting against the mill owners and times are hard. James Ashton, the son of the mill owner and former Etonian himself, is the financier of the local team. The question is, can they all overcome their differences and lift the cup? 

Very quickly, this becomes quite a tired underdog story. It consistently felt like it was on the edge of becoming a sketch about an Alan Bennet play. It seemed to lack authenticity with Lancashire accents that would’ve been at home in a Harry Enfield sketch (and even I can admit that using two references to make one point may be overkill). This may be due to the journey the play had. Originally a more general screenplay about a young footballer at Wembley F.C. trying to live in the shadow of the stadium, co-writers Andrew and Eve Pearson-Wright searched for a true story to mould it to. With help from researchers, they found the story of Darwen F.C. This historic re-telling leads to some stunted storytelling, heavily relying on narration from characters to tell us the story instead of showing it in scenes. It tries to cram in so much story that it leaves little room for anything to truly land. Hard-hitting discussions of class and unionism are raced through, with even a scene where the central couple lose their child being a 2-minute scene where Lucy falls to her knees in the rain and screams ‘No!’ verging on parody. 

As Lucy’s brother, Billy Walsh, Graham Butler gives the standout performance. His energy and physicality throughout is impressive. Movement direction from Emily Holt, combined with Butler’s powerful presence make the football match sequences a real treat. They are loud, exciting and full of great theatricality. The booming sound design, created by Beth Duke helps to take us into the heart of the Kennington Oval. The rest of the design is quite disappointing. The lighting design is remarkably flat, giving us very little and often just warm lighting the whole stage. Aside from a large windowless wall (well there are windows but they’re painted in white) the set is largely made up of benches on wheels which, when constantly moved and locked in place, are less than ideal on the stage at Wiltons. With a venue with such a rich character, it feels like a waste. 

It is clear that class is a huge factor in this play, it is inescapable. But it reaches a strange conclusion, with the ever-loyal unionist Billy Walsh realising that the son of mill owner James Ashton isn’t that bad after all, even after they threatened to close down the mills and leave the entire town destitute. Although I admit this point is lightly challenged, our protagonist Bobby tells us ‘I don’t care about class, I just wanna play football.’ Sure. They win out against the Old Etonians in the end, but the rosy-faced ey-up we saved the community ending feels pained. 

Back in 2018, the story was produced as a short radio piece by BBC Lancashire. It was made up of interviews with Darwen locals, excerpts from the play and historic narration. From listening to it, it is clear to me that the true voice of Darwen is what seems to be missing from this stage version. If they managed to tell the story here in 29 minutes, how does it take 110 minutes at Wiltons? As a vicious underdog story, The Giant Killers is sadly lacking in bite. 

The Giant Killers played at Wiltons Music Hall till 29th June and is out on tour until 2nd August at various venues.

https://www.thegiantkillersplay.com/tour-dates