Tom Wells’s Kitchen Sink was one of my cultural highlights of 2012, his latest play Jumpers for Goalposts shares some of the atmosphere, issues and humour of the former work. The whole play is set in a very credible changing room; the action takes place after every match played by a somewhat eccentric five-a-side football team.
Wells celebrates the diversity of 21st century human beings. His characters are peculiar. Because we are all peculiar. He closely observes the habits and foibles of his players with hilarious and often touching results.
The complexity of characterisation makes great demands on the cast particularly linguistically. The actors meet these demands and carry one emotionally through the occasional ups and frequent downs of their extraordinary-ordinary lives.
The play advances the task of normalising what once might have been considered unconventional lifestyle choices. It does this without once appearing worthy but by making the audience contort with laughter.
Jumpers for Goalposts continues until 4 January 2014, book here.
Written by a Thoroughly Modern Man, Chris Kenny.
