Toshack Or Me!/To Hull And Back

Jan 11 2008 by Sarah Miloudi, Western Mail

swansea grand theatre

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sarah miloudi

FOLLOWING the success of his last play about a Welsh football team’s journey to promotion, the sequel to Peter Read’s Toshack or Me! will open at Swansea Grand Theatre later this month.

Toshack or Me! – which followed South Wales side Swansea City through its famous promotion battle in the ‘80s – played to seven sell-out audiences when it was first shown in 2006.

The production was credited with attracting a new breed of fans into Welsh theatres, by pulling a large proportion of its audiences from the football terraces across South Wales.

It also won widespread support from leading figures in the club and influential players who fought tooth-and-nail to help the Swans secure promotion.

Toshack or Me!, a comedy which centres around the theme of obsession, will be shown again at the Swansea theatre on January 31, as a prelude to its sequel, To Hull and Back.

In stark contrast to the first play, which tells the story of the promotion struggle through the eyes of football fan, Dave, and his partner Holly, the sequel tells of the club’s 2002/03 battle with bankruptcy and near expulsion from the football league.

Commissioned following the sell-out success of Toshack or Me!, To Hull and Back documents the Swans’ fight, and its struggle to find a saviour for the club as it nears its last match of the season against English side, Hull City.

Stars from Read’s (pictured) first play will also star in To Hull and Back, which the writer hopes will remind sports fans of their obsessions and the lengths they go to to support their side through their ups and downs.

Both productions have been widely supported by staff and players at the Swansea-based club, two of which featured heavily in both of the defining moments in the club’s history.

Swansea City legend and one of the side’s key players during its 1982/83 promotion battle, Alan Curtis, is said to be “hugely supportive” of the productions, as is current manager, Roberto Martinez, who played in the team’s make-or-break match against Hull City, which the Swans won four goals to two.

Toshack or Me! will be at Swansea Grand Theatre on January 31. To Hull and Back will be shown on February 1 and 2 at the same venue at 7pm. For tickets, contact the box office on 01792 475715