Chronology and Significant Historical Events
Context:
Cultural and Political (development of English nationalism,
including more recently Brexit, Scottish Referendum, rise of UKIP,
Windrush scandal, #BlackLivesMatter movement)
Theatrical (social realism of pub setting)
Genre:
In Yer Face theatre
Sport shaping form
Games and strategy
Characters:
Ensemble cast and its tribal nature
Behaviours across generations
The young: Barry and Glen (also Duane and Bad T)
Middle-aged men: Mark (military) and Lee (police officer)
Different types of racism: Alan (intellectualised racism) and
Lawrie (overt racism)
Mothers: Gina and Sharon
Themes:
Sport
English nationalism
Racism
Production History:
Revival at Chichester Festival Theatre, 2019
Scheduled ‘Coming Home’ production at the National Theatre,
2020
Further Exploration
Interview with Roy Williams
SING YER HEART OUT FOR THE LADS
Notes
Roy Williams’s fierce and excoriating portrait of British racism considers what it means to be British and how people define it. Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads premiered in 2002 at the National Theatre, London, and is published here in a Student Edition alongside commentary and notes by Gemma Edwards.
Roy Williams OBE worked as an actor before turning to
writing full-time in 1990. His plays for the theatre include The No
Boys Cricket Club, Clubland, Fallout, Sing Yer Heart Out for the
Lads, Little Sweet Thing, Days of Significance, Joe Guy, Baby Girl
and Sucker Punch. He was the first recipient of the Alfred Fagon
Award and was awarded the OBE for Services to Drama in the 2008
Birthday Honours List.
Gemma Edwards received her PhD from the University of
Nottingham, UK, and is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the
University of Manchester, UK. Her work explores the representation
of non-metropolitan communities and environments in contemporary
theatre, with a focus on the relationships between place, politics,
and performance.
The material is raw and real and is miserably just as relevant now
as it was 17 years ago ...
*Whatsonstage*
This is the sort of gutsy, uncompromising and bold drama that is
sorely lacking in today’s inoffensive, watered-down theatre
industry
*The Stage*
This searing, finely crafted play, pivoting around two pairs of
brothers - one white and one black - remains vexingly relevant
*The Times*
As the pub's own football team arrives to watch the match, Williams
shows how generalised xenophobia conceals a more specific racism
... Williams [sharply] delineates the different faces of British
racism.
*Guardian*
A fascinating play to explore with an A-Level group keen to discuss
national, cultural and ethnic identity.
*Drama and Theatre*
Premiered at the National Theatre in 2002, Roy Williams’s
ferocious, funny and disturbing play takes aim at what it means to
be black, white and English in twenty-first century Britain.
Scoring high on foul language, threat and vulgar humour, Sing Yer
Heart Out for the Lads is definitely not for the faint of
heart.
*Chichester Festival Theatre*
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