
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
- Music
- Andrew Lloyd Webber
- 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
After an eleven-month West End run in 2000, the show was re-worked and temporarily re-titled The Boys in the Photograph. The rewrites remained, but the title has now returned to The Beautiful Game.
to read the context for The Beautiful Game and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Plot
Characters
Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
---|---|---|---|
Lead |
Male |
Tenor |
|
Lead |
Female |
Soprano |
|
Lead |
Male |
Tenor, Baritone |
|
Supporting |
Male |
Tenor, Baritone, Bass |
|
Supporting |
Male |
Baritone, Tenor |
|
Supporting |
Male |
Tenor |
|
Supporting |
Female |
Soprano |
|
Supporting |
Male |
Tenor, Baritone |
|
Supporting |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
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
Scenes
Key Terms
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.
Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
Sorry! We do not currently have learning modules for this guide.
Quote Analysis
Sorry! We do not currently have learning modules for this guide.