The Beautiful Game (sometimes performed as The Boys in the Photograph) is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Ben Elton about a group of teenagers growing up during The Troubles in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1969.
The title of the musical (The Beautiful Game) is a commonly used reference to association football, the origins of which are disputed. The plot, which is centred on a local football (soccer) team, focuses on the attempt to overcome the <!-- text reworded: who was "[religiously] intolerant"?? -- do we really want to open up that can of worms here? -->violence that has engulfed their community. The Catholic team has one atheist player, Del (who comes from a Protestant family) and the coach is a priest. The musical chronicles some of the key players during the emerging political and religious violence. Some of the players become IRA volunteers, and another is knee-capped. The musical also chronicles the emotional change in the protagonist from political ambivalence to becoming an IRA volunteer.
The most successful song from the score was "Our Kind of Love", which had originally been performed by Kiri Te Kanawa as "The Heart Is Slow to Learn". It was cut from the re-worked version of the show in 2008, and used as the title song to Lloyd Webber's sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies.
Production history
In 1998, Lloyd Webber invited Elton to dinner to discuss the possibility of the latter working on a rewrite of the script for Starlight Express, updating the humour of the original. Elton declined but suggested the possibility of a new musical, with an entirely original storyline, having observed that most musicals were based upon existing ideas. The two writers settled upon the idea of setting a story amid The Troubles in Belfast.
The world premiere of The Beautiful Game opened on 26 September 2000 at the Cambridge Theatre in London and closed 1 September 2001, after a total run of slightly more than 11 months. The production featured Josie Walker, David Shannon, Ben Goddard, Hannah Waddingham, Alex Sharpe and Michael Shaeffer in leading roles. Dianne Pilkington and Shonagh Daly were ensemble members. It was directed by Robert Carsen with choreography by Australian choreographer Meryl Tankard.
The show was met with a mixed reception from the critics: while the production and Lloyd Webber's score were largely praised, Elton's book and lyrics came under fire for being crass, predictable and undistinguished although John Peter in his review in The Sunday Times wrote "Elton's book and lyrics burst with energy, indignation and intelligence. Brave and bitterly truthful...this show...need not fear comparison with West Side Story. Offhand, I cannot think of greater praise". The show never made it to Broadway.
A rewrite by Lloyd-Webber and Elton, with the new title The Boys in the Photograph, received a workshop production by students at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts in April 2008, directed by Nick Phillips. Subsequently, in April 2009 a full-scale production was presented at the Manitoba Theatre Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. This production transferred to the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in September 2009. The rewrite gave a more uplifting ending than in the original production.
In February 2012, Northern Ireland youth group Fusion Theatre produced the show for the first time in its native Northern Ireland. Directed by Ian Milford with choreography by Rebecca Leonard, the cross-community youth chorus performed it for a week-long run. The show was attended by representatives of Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group. The company took the show to compete at the Waterford Festival of Light Opera in Ireland in May 2012.
The original production's choreographer, Meryl Tankard, directed and choreographed the Australian premiere at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in August 2016, performed by 3rd year students there.
A new production performed by the National Youth Music Theatre students had a limited run at the Other Palace in London on 15–18 August 2018.
In September 2019, Manilla Street Productions staged the professional Australian premiere in Melbourne at Chapel Off Chapel. Directed by Karen Jemison, it starred Stephanie Wall and Stephen Mahy.
Although being based in Northern Ireland, The Beautiful Game has only been performed there twice, by two amateur theatre companies, the first being Fusion Theatre Lisburn in 2012
- A selection of songs from the musical were performed for President-elect George W. Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair at a reception in Washington on 18 January 2001
Awards and nominations
- Best Musical Award, Critics' Circle Theatre Awards (2000)
- Best Actress in a musical, Josie Walker (Olivier Awards 2001) Nominee
- Best Performer in a Supporting Role – Musical Theatre, Samuel Skuthorp (Green Room Awards 2020) Nominee
- Best Sound Design – Musical Theatre, Marcello Lo Ricco (Green Room Awards 2020) Nominee