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Phil Hopkins
Group Travel Editor & Theatre Correspondent
@philhopkinsuk
11:05 PM 16th September 2017
arts

Batley Birds Are A Tour De Force!

 
The cast of The Ruck - photo Andrew Billington
The cast of The Ruck - photo Andrew Billington
Texting, rugby balls, boyfriends and dark family secrets are bound together in a hotchpotch of heated emotions this week, as Kevin Fegan's 'rugby' tour drama arrives at Huddersfield's Lawrence Batley Theatre and touches down with all the sensitivity of a 20-stone wool worker!

Choice, honest language, plenty of broad dialect and more than the odd reference to the noble game, colour this touching drama which pulls no punches, despite its comedic value, preferring to use the 'F' word rather than flowering itself into something that would betray its Batley roots.

The cast of The Ruck - photo Andrew Billington
The cast of The Ruck - photo Andrew Billington
Increasingly dramas seemingly tackle the issues of race, religion and skin colour and, recently, this has been the case; The Barbershop Chronicles, Queen of Chapeltown and now The Ruck have all scrutinised the thorny issue of black vs white, Muslim vs Christian.

But Fegan struck a nice balance with this drama, which tells the story of the Batley under 16's girls rugby team, and their physical and metaphorical journey as they begin their quest to visit Australia's Gold Coast to take on Oz's all-school champions.

One of the Brits is a Muslim and her relationship with her white teammates falls under the microscope from the perspective of, 'I'm not really that different' and, whilst there was always the danger that the play could become a political soapbox, thankfully it didn't. There were plenty of serious messages with enough humorous antidotes, to make all the necessary points without burdening the audience with sighs of 'oh not another piece of theatre about the morality of this, that and t'other!"

The cast of The Ruck - photo Andrew Billington
The cast of The Ruck - photo Andrew Billington
Sophie Mercer, as Iffy, was the hijab clad Muslim whose father donates £5,000 towards the fund that pays for the trip Down Under. But could he possibly have that sort of cash without it coming from the proceeds of crime? Obviously not hints our sarcastic Asian protagonist!

Insecure Emley uses make up as a cover for her insecurities, competing with Iffy for Calder's affections, and Esther-Grace Button as Shelley explores her sexuality as fellow player Heaton, aka Emily Spowage, comes to terms with a dark past.

The Ruck began during a Creative Scene Residency programme undertaken by proper Job Theatre Company at Batley Bulldogs where the raked pitch at Mount Pleasant is infamous. There was no shortage of guffaws from a well-informed audience, totally tuned into the myriad of local references.

This was a play that had real meaning for its northern audience with some great, round-cornered performances; practical, straightforward and no-nonsense at every turn!

The Ruck was brassy, bullish and as subtle as a luminous condom but, like the latter, it was entertaining and will, no doubt, leave 'em laughing long after the fizz has gone out of opening night!

Get yerself along for a laff!

The Ruck
Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield
then on tour until 22 September 2017