A new play charting one of Glentoran Football Club's finest hours is set to hit the stage.
‘One Saturday before the War’ opens on October 6 at the Sanctuary Theatre on Castlereagh Street in East Belfast.
The play commemorates the Glens' famous Vienna Cup win in Austria in the spring of 1914, and has been produced by the Bright Umbrella Theatre Company.
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It follows Glentoran's adventure across Europe before the onset of World War One.
On May 18, 1914, 13 footballers swapped their work boots for the red, green, and black shirts of their beloved football team to embark on an odyssey which saw them mingle with some of the richest and most influential people in the western world as they attempted to lift the Vienna Cup.
The stage play has been written by Trevor Gill and Sam Robinson, the author of the book of the same name, and stars some of the best young actors in the country including Jack Watson, Thomas Galashan, Philippa O'Hara and Forrest Bothwell.
Lifelong Glens fan Sam Robinson said: “We feel this is a story very much worth telling, and one that Glentoran fans and the people of East Belfast should be very proud of.
"This is the first time I have been involved in writing a stage play, so it has been a steep learning curve for me too. But hopefully everyone enjoys watching it as much as we have enjoyed producing it.
"Also, thanks to the guys at The Sydenham End, for the duration of One Saturday’s run, the theatre will be decked out in Glentoran flags and banners. We also want the audience to wear their club colours when they come to watch it."
Trevor, who is the Artistic Director of Bright Umbrella, has appeared in leading roles with BBC1 and the Royal Shakespeare Company and has directed productions for the South London Theatre Centre and the RSC.
He told Glentoran's website: "It’s a real privilege for us to tell a story that is so rooted in the East Belfast community. Audiences can be assured of some real belly laughs and some tears – thousands of young men, who cheered on the boys who won in Vienna that spring, and some of the team themselves, would, only a couple of months later, end up fighting on the Western Front during World War 1.
"We also have a number of surprises in store – not least when we finally reveal the answer to the story’s biggest mystery - what really happened to Leslie Murphy, the young Glens goalkeeper ‘lost’ for two nights in Vienna?"
Tickets for the play are available at www.ticketsource.co.uk/brightumbrella
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