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Overview

Synopsis

Set in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, The Beautiful Game follows the fortunes of a group of teenagers, all members of a local Catholic football team, and their friends. In the first half , the football team has a triumphant season against the ever-advancing shadows of the Belfast riots. As the team progresses, so do their love lives. But by the second half, their lives are starting to fall apart. John, the newly married star striker, is imprisoned and turned from potential professional into a new IRA recruit. Meanwhile, his old friend Thomas becomes a manipulative Republican boss whose shady trades with the police lead to his murder. As their community is torn apart, other team members end up dead, exiled or crippled. With soaring music from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Ben Elton鈥檚 compelling script, The Beautiful Game is a hard-hitting reminder of the struggles within Northern Ireland at the time of the exploding troubles.

Show Information

Book
Ben Elton
Lyrics
Ben Elton
Category
Musical
Age Guidance
Thirteen Plus (PG-13)
Number of Acts
2
First Produced
2000
Genres
Historical/Biographical, Romance
Settings
Period, Multiple Settings
Time & Place
Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1970s
Cast Size
medium
Orchestra Size
Medium
Dancing
Optional
Licensor
Ideal For
Community Theatre, College/University, Religious Groups, Regional Theatre, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Adult, Mature Adult, Late Teen, Young Adult Characters, Medium Cast

Context

Plot


Characters

Name Part Size Gender Vocal Part

John Kelly

Lead

Male

Tenor

Mary McGuire

Lead

Female

Soprano

Derek (”Del”) Copeland

Lead

Male

Tenor, Baritone

Father O'Donnell

Supporting

Male

Tenor, Baritone, Bass

Daniel Gillen

Supporting

Male

Baritone, Tenor

Thomas Malloy

Supporting

Male

Tenor

Bernadette

Supporting

Female

Soprano

Gregory (“Ginger”) O’Shaunessy

Supporting

Male

Tenor, Baritone

Christine Warner

Supporting

Female

Mezzo-Soprano

Ensemble

Ensemble

Either Gender

Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, Bass

Songs

Act One

  • "The Beautiful Game" - Players & Spectators
  • "The Boys in the Photograph" - Mary, Girls
  • "Clean the Kit" - John, Thomas & Cronies, Mary
  • "Don鈥檛 Like You" - John, Mary
  • "God鈥檚 Own Country" - Mary, Protestant Girl
  • "The Craic" - Christine, Del
  • "The Final (A Game of Two Halves)" - Lads, Girls, Thomas, Ref.
  • "The Party" - Lads, Christine, Girls
  • "Let Us Love in Peace" - Bernadette, Ginger
  • "The Boy in the Photograph (Reprise)" - Mary, Christine, Bernadette
  • "Let Us Love in Peace (Reprise)" - Bernadette, Christine, Mary, John, Company

Act Two

  • "The Happiest Day of Our Lives" - Mary, John, Girls, Boys
  • "All the Love I Have" - John, Mary
  • "Don鈥檛 Like You (Reprise)" - John, Mary
  • "The First Time" - John, Mary
  • "I鈥檇 Rather Die on My Feet" - Thomas, John
  • "God鈥檚 Own Country/ The Boys in the Photograph" - Mary, Christine, Del
  • "The Selection" - John, Boys
  • "John in Prison" - John
  • "Dead Zone" - Prisoners
  • "If This is What We鈥檙e Fighting For" - Mary
  • "All the Live I Have (Reprise)" - John, Mary
  • "It Will Never End" - Thomas, John
  • "The Beautiful Game" - Company

A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.

Monologues

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Scenes

All scenes are the property and copyright of their owners. Scenes are presented on 星空娱乐官网 for educational purposes only. If you would like to give a public performance of this scene, please obtain authorization from the appropriate licensor.

Key Terms

    IRA

    The Irish Republican Army (IRA), a republican paramilitary organization seeking the establishment of a republic and the end of British rule in Northern Ireland.

    Violent sectarian conflict from about 1968 to 1998 in Northern Ireland between the Protestant unionists (loyalists), who desired the province to remain part of the United Kingdom, and the Roman Catholic nationalists (republicans), who wanted Northern Ireland to become part of the republic of Ireland.

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Guide Written By:

Alexandra Appleton

Alexandra Appleton

Writer, editor and theatre researcher