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Heartwarming and skilful, The Invincibles shines a light on football greatnessSummary
Rating
Good
The Invincibles is a touching story of sporting brilliance against the odds. A playful and light-hearted performance balances with moments of powerful choral singing, as we follow two timelines centred on football, with the line that separates them blurring as the play progresses.
In the first, Maya (played by the brilliant Yanexi Enriquez) is a modern-day young woman dealing with the transition into adulthood. Director James Grieve’s choice to overlap this commonplace story with one of great victory leaves a devastating message about the brutality of football – men’s and women’s – for players and fans alike.
The other timeline tells of The Sterling Ladies (nicknamed the Dagenham Invincibles); their formation and remarkable success. A football team is born from the female workforce of an electrical company during WWI. The looming return of the conscripted men mean their story is unfortunately an inevitable, transient moment: but what will this mean for history?
The characters are played with plenty of heart, the actors finding more sincerity and depth as the show progresses. Simon Darwen’s dynamic and inspiring portrayal of the team’s coach, Cholly is particularly notable. However, they occasionally feel drowned out and struggle to fill the rather large stage, which is both a vocal issue and one with blocking. The cast hasn’t quite gelled in the way a winning football team must, each performing in different emotional worlds at key story junctures. They have a moment of individual brilliance but struggle to listen and respond to each other honestly when most necessary. A flashy Paris Saint Germain rather than a tight-knit Arsenal outfit, perhaps…
Grieve’s direction is aesthetically impressive. He shows natural instincts for visual storytelling, having the team literally live inside their objective with a giant LED goal engulfing the stage. Lucie Pankhurst and Lily Jones’ movement sequences are crisp and surprising in their interpretation of football for stage. They sometimes drag a little, but are beautifully performed by a cast of strong movers.
The writing is packed with comedy, giving a heightened theatricality, especially in the first act However, writer Amanda Whittington occasionally struggles to achieve the naturalistic feel required for more sincere moments: James (the musically impressive Steve Simmonds) is representative of the contemporary oppression women went through and is an obstacle to the existence of the team, but he’s not quite the antagonist needed to create adequate drama. His character arc feels sudden and therefore undeserved, making it harder to empathise with the plight of the Sterling Ladies, fighting to enter a really tough sporting world. More positively, the story’s many overlapping layers satisfyingly reference each other and themselves, driving home the point that the current generation of women’s footballers stands on the shoulders of the likes of the Sterling Ladies.
With this layering, Whittington displays a fine example of playwrighting, building a dynamic piece of art from many perspectives. However, sometimes a slight lack of clarity and even logical sense in the dialogue subtracts from this: why does Maya’s mum tell her only now that she was once a footballer too, when she has seemingly been trying to connect to Maya for the past ten or so years?
The excellent sound design uses real commentary from the Lionesses’ recent world cup run brilliantly over movement sequences of the Stirling Ladies’ matches. Sadly, it was way too quiet, preventing the audience from full immersion in these moments; but this is an issue that is easy to rectify.
Although the show doesn’t always emulate the atmosphere so intrinsic to live football, this play is still a must see for football fans… and future football fans! An ode to the lovely Hornchurch and the football legends tied to the area who paved the way for generations to come, The Invincibles is an eye opening and exciting story: a great display of the beautiful game.
Written by: Amada Whittington
Directed by: James Grieve
Design by: Laura Ann Price
Movement Direction by: Lucie Pankhurst
Musical Direction by: Andrew Linham
Football Coaching by: Lily Jones
The Invincibles plays at Queens Theatre Hornchurch until 23 September. Further information and bookings can be found here.
