Fantastic Foxes At The Curve, Leicester Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by L Burton
Last night we watched Rob Ward’s Fantastic Foxes – The remarkable rise of Leicester City Football Club at the Curve in Leicester. My son, teenager and avid football fan and player, joined me as this was something different to our usual theatre visits. The show was in the studio rather than the theatre and had a completely different feel to what one would normally expect in a traditional theatre. But we thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Not being a huge football fan myself, I wanted to see if something like this would appeal to everyone or just the die-hard city fans who live and breathe the history and success of this particular club. And I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the energy on stage and the audience’s enthusiasm. Apart from retelling the long and sometimes disappointing history of this club, every member of the cast brought their part and the audience could clearly tell that this club meant a lot, to a lot of people, for a very long time.
The cast were fantastic and each one brought their part with energy and gusto, it all added to a very enjoyable evening and there were many laugh out loud moments in the audience. A huge shout out to some cast members such as Stella Huntley who played the school teacher “Miss” – you had to remember many, many, many words and you did a fantastic job of it! Others to mention were Joseph Allen (Taylor and Vardy), Matt Hill (Ken Leek, Alistair and Gordon Banks), Gary Izzard (Bill Taylor, Frank Worthington & Commentator), Jamie Creasey (Lang and Graeme) and Brandon Preston (West and Mr Mullen) and their great changing room scene which had the audience chuckling! There were so many more I could mention – you were all so committed to the performance and it paid off! Some of the cast shared on stage what the club meant to them personally which I wasn’t sure if it was part of the script or not, they clearly meant what they said and felt. An enjoyable evening was had by all!
This show is on at the Curve in Leicester up to and including the 3rd August. Ticket prices start from £10 and can be purchased from Fantastic Foxes – Curve Theatre, Leicester (curveonline.co.uk)
I rate this show as 4/5 due to the history that was shared through the story – it does cover a broad spectrum and a thorough run through of the wins and losses that the club endured since the idea of the team started by a group of friends in a garden shed. This show would be ideal for any Leicester City Football Fan and would make a fantastic summer outing – if you love Leicester City Football Club and you like theatre, you are in for a treat.
Please note that this show does contain strong language and advised that only children over the age of 14 and adults should attend. I spotted a couple of younger viewers last night but I definitely would not recommend – there were a few f-bombs and it does happen a number of times during the performance. Photos of the production were provided by Curve theatre.
https://www.curveonline.co.uk/whats-on/shows/fantastic-foxes/
Rating: 4/5