Edinburgh Fringe 2026
The Pitch
Moya Jane Productions, Lyric Belfast and Pleasance
Genre: New Writing, Theatre
Venue: Pleasance Courtyard
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
The Pitch dramatises a slice of life of three sports-mad teenagers living in Belfast today, and using a ‘what if …’ explores generational divides which can be as entrenched as those which have split Ireland itself. The play is also a celebration of Gaelic football (and a helpful GAA for dummies!) which is apparently played the world over but is rarely featured in the arts.
Review
Belfast lad Robbie’s favourite football pitch is refurbished into a Gaelic football ground and this loss riles him up. But for GAA player Deren, it’s a chance to play the sport he loves, in a city he has never felt accepted in. Robbie’s sister, Melissa, a savvy sporty teenager, is a lively part of this trio too, determined not to be pigeonholed while plotting her next boyfriend move.
Whether you cheer for Man U or Man City is as much about your religion and politics in Belfast as your love of a good game of football, so in between good-natured ribbing about support for rival English premier league teams, the three have to negotiate relationships against increasingly demanding voices for and against a United Ireland. The Pitch makes a point that giving up on a point of view can lead to a win at life and explores the possibilities of acceptance of difference; it might be set in Belfast but this could be about any divided city on the tipping point of change.
No surprise The Pitch was chosen as one of just five premier productions from the four home nations to come to the Pleasance this summer. It is beautifully scripted by Philip Catherwood. Thea Mayeux exciting direction uses movement and a driving music beat between scenes to suggest sporting endeavour as well as the increasing clamour of the approaching referendum (an imagined political event in the near future). The trio of young actors from Northern Ireland (James Grimm, Jake Douglas, Dión Di Maio) engage our attention throughout – funny, athletic, anxious and brave even with the tough gig of playing teenagers convincingly and consistently.
There are tiny moments in the text itself when the author’s voice poked through too insistently, so just occasionally a character is a mouthpiece rather than a unique individual. The action takes place over a couple of years and that passage of time was less obvious in the characterisation and portrayals. After such a brilliant set-up perhaps the outcomes of the relationships and family lives needed a little more time on stage.
This is a genuinely exciting play and cleverly uses sporting rivals and tribalism to explore big and serious issues in Northern Ireland without ever weighing down the action with heavy political discourses. Quite the opposite – it is a joyous production. Catch it while you can and let’s hope it gets a much deserved tour.
