Football play closes Trav 60
Same Team – Street Soccer Story to play Traverse in December
The final play of the Traverse’s 60th anniversary season is to be Same Team – Street Soccer Story, by Robbie Gordon and Jack Nurse, created with the women of Street Soccer’s Dundee Change Centre and inspired by the Homeless World Cup.
It tells of five women’s experiences of homelessness, as they come together and set-out to win the Homeless Football World Cup in Milan. It was developed through creative workshops with the women of the Dundee Street Soccer team. It will play Traverse 1 from Friday 8 to Saturday 23 December 2023.
Same Team artwork. Image: Serden Salih
Same Team is a Traverse commission. It will be directed by Bryony Shanahan, the former co-artistic director of the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, with a cast including Chloe-Anne Tylor, Hannah Jarrett-Scott, Hiftu Quasem, Neshla Caplan and Louise Ludgate.
In the play, five women have come together with one goal, one dream. Coming from very different backgrounds in life they have to work together as a team if they want to do what no one from Scotland has ever done before. To win the Homeless World Cup, and bring the trophy home.
The Traverse say that the production is part of its ongoing commitment to “delving into Scottish communities to tell thrilling stories that challenge social expectation and push artistic norms… it is the latest, vital part of the continuing Traverse mission to push boundaries, redefine the theatrical experience and make theatre accessible for everyone.”
genesis
In this production the audience will become the fans and clearance – the message from front of house to the stage manager that the audience are seated and the show can start – becomes kick-off.
Linda Crooks, the Traverse’s executive producer and CEO, says that the genesis of the show came when she heard Street Soccer team member Sarah Rhind make her first public speech, at an International Women’s Day event in 2017.
Street Soccer Scotland. Pic: Edinburgh Photographic
Crooks says: “Sarah’s story, told with humour and humility, reflected difficulties faced across society by women, drawing attention to homelessness in Scotland and the UK. She spoke of how the challenges – and individuals – can present themselves in different guises and now more than ever this feels hugely significant.
“I was hooked. The work of Street Soccer – and the stories of these women – is a universal and pressing story that needs to be told. So here we are in 2023 five years in the making, we cannot wait to see it light up our Traverse 1 stage this December…”
Director Bryony Shanahan, says it is great to be working at the Traverse again and on such an exciting and timely play as Same Team. She says that through her involvement in both football and theatre she sees similarities in the benefits of both for fans and theatre goers.
brilliantly entertaining
“Football has been a massive part of my life,” she says, “both playing and as a fan. As has theatre! I’ve seen first-hand how both can create community, a sense of belonging and improve physical and mental health, as well as provide a brilliantly entertaining event for fans and audiences alike.
“Seeing these two things come together in Same Team is a dream and working with the women of Street Soccer, alongside Jack and Robbie, we hope to combine the best elements of football and theatre to make something exhilarating, hilarious and with bags of heart.”
Same Team – A Street Soccer Story will open for previews on Friday 8 December, with a first night on Tuesday 12 December. It will run daily (not Suns and Mons) though to Saturday 23 December. Lighting Design will be by Lizzie Powell and Sound Design by Susan Bear.
Listings
Same Team – A Street Soccer Story
Traverse, 10 Cambridge Street, EH1 2ED.
Friday 8 – Saturday 23 December 2023
Previews Fri 8/Sat 9: 7.30pm.
Tue – Sat (not Sat 23): 7.30pm;
Mats: Sats 16 & 23, Wed 20, Fri 22: 2.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
Street Soccer Scotland. Pic: Edinburgh Photographic
ENDS
