The Giant Killers

When searching the Edinburgh website for shows to see every year there are now so many that the 'filter results' button can come in so handy! With our two Junior DarkChatters now newly crowned teenagers they are interested in (amongst other things) football. Having already used the search to find the wonderful War of Two Halves hopes were high for another excellent show where football played a part. Long Lane Theatre did not disappoint.

The Giant Killers tells the true story of Darwen FC, the first working class team to compete in the FA Cup in what was then a gentleman's competition played by the public schoolboys of the land. Set to the backdrop of the hard times of life in the Lancashire Mill town we follow the team through the eyes of the returning Bobby, back in his hometown and encouraging the locals to take part in the fledgling FA Cup.

The level of performance is excellent, the four strong cast have you rooting for not only the team but the characters as they struggle to survive and face loss and adversity on and off the pitch. The staging is done well with a small number of props becoming bars, trains and football pitches and by the end you'll be believing that you're following the team down at the Kennington Oval as they face the toffs of Eton and cheering them on as they play.

Another winner.

Reviews by Teens

The Giant Killers is a show about how a small town team called Darwen FC, the first ever team made entirely of the working-class, rose up through the FA Cup (as it was then, so mainly for the old public schoolboys and posher people) while also having to deal with personal problems of their own.

It follows the 2 main characters, Bobby & Lucy and their newborn child Arthur and tells the story of how Darwen FC went from a team who only played for fun, to a team that got to the latter stages of the FA cup, only to be knocked out (in more ways than one) by the very brutal Old Etonians.

This is an excellent show and I would recommend seeing it, even if you don't like football as it is an amazing tale of resilience and bravery.