REVIEW: Beating Berlusconi - a Liverpool FC's Istanbul tale retold with relish

May 8 2009 Liverpool Daily Post

AN INCONVENIENT truth, so you’ll have to whisper it. There are a few people in this city and beyond who are not rabid football fans – be it Red, Blue or otherwise – and, sometimes, you can feel a little left out.

When it came to watching Beating Berlusconi, a play encapsulating one man’s love of Liverpool, its red-shirted team and 20 turbulent years . . . I was a little worried. But you don’t have to be a football fan to be swept into the tale of Kenny Noonan.

You’re in the room when the youngster feigns interest in his grandfather’s happy rambles about Glasgow Celtic. You’re on the Toxteth street when he meets two hilarious yet poignant friends who will see him into adulthood.

And you’re certainly in Istanbul's Atatürk Olympic stadium when Liverpool win the Champions League and one middle-aged father marks the occasion with the weirdest night of his life.

Much credit rests with actor Paul Duckworth. He kept the crowd at the NOVAS Contemporary urban centre, in Jamaica Street, on its toes with his superb characterisation – slipping from character to character without so much as an accent out of place.

There is a deeply touching moment in the midst of the Toxteth riots; a swift and heavy silence at mentions of Heysel and Hillsborough, and full-bellied laughter as the unlikely trio of Margaret Thatcher, a Mancunian policeman and Silvio Berlusconi all take their turn in the room.

Writer John Graham Davies can certainly hit a punchline and, although you could argue against a few stereotypes – and a few scenes which could be trimmed– you’d be a miserable one not to feel uplifted as you head into the night.

This play isn’t just based on a true story. It’s based on thousands.