Simon Hedger delivers a tour de force in this duathlon of a one hander, in a well deserved and timely revival at Unity under the impeccable direction of Sam Freeman.
First presented at the Rose and Crown Hampton Wick in 1999, Gaffer! was Chris Chibnall’s third play for GRiP Theatre, but gained recognition in what seems to have been its only revival so far in 2004 at Southwark Playhouse with Deka Walmesley.
A decade later we might have hoped the subject matter would feel more dated, but recent events sadly continue to prove that its message is as relevant today as the day it was written. In 1999 the football world was coming to terms with the suicide of Justin Fashanu. Sadly 15 years later homophobia “the last taboo of football” remains as embedded as ever.
Possibly a factor in the play’s rarity is in finding an actor both able and willing to undertake the task. There are a lot of words and numerous characterisations. Simon Hedger reassures us that the rhythm of the writing gave him plenty of help but nonetheless it’s an impressive feat that he carries off with tremendous style. No stranger to multiple roles, Hedger switches seamlessly between characters, not only using a range of voices but seemingly able to shape-shift so that we see them all too.
The Gaffer, George, is manager of the enthusiastic but struggling Northbridge Town football club. Times are hard and the administrators are at the door, and a new chairman brings in a consultant who has different ideas about what makes for success on the pitch. One tactic is to hire a promising new striker from the youth team, only seventeen but with the will to make his mark and a Rottweiler of a father for an agent.
When Northbridge are drawn to play Liverpool they’re prepared for valiant defeat, so a draw is cause for elation and a night on the ale, and it is on the way home that the young hopeful declares his unlikely and unbidden love for George and plants a big kiss on him. Cue for an interval - sorry - half time.
George is prepared to shrug it off and put it down to youth and alcohol, but when he finds the moment captured on film and plastered all over the morning papers this becomes harder than he thought. The ensuing media feeding frenzy rakes up memories from the past and rocks the foundations of George’s life.
Simon Hedger’s Gaffer would be a larger than life performance but for the fact that it is so incredibly true to reality. It is an amalgam of so many familiar managers past and present and the passion is infectious even for a self-confessed football ignoramus like myself. But he doesn’t stop at George. Among his other creations are several team members, various management, and a died-in-the-wool traditionalist of a groundsman who believes the way to beat the opposition is by having a pitch so uneven that the divots confuse them into submission. The marketing consultant who suggests a list of phrases that can’t be used in an interview is someone you’d happily throttle.
The play takes a serious gear shift at half-time, from the nostalgically comic to something much more dark and brooding. Act one is full of the energy of the game and laced with humour, while act two becomes a study of the damage that the press can inflict on individuals when they turn private lives into public property. Some of the most telling moments in both halves come when George reflects back to his past with genuine affection for those who nurtured his early career. A recalled gesture handed on from past to future makes a moving and poignant turning point.
Each character’s orientation is never explicitly defined, and rightly so. Ultimately it is the opinions of others and the destructive power of the media that are under the microscope here.
Gaffer! plays at Unity Theatre Liverpool until Saturday 5th July.
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