And Did Those Feet (starring Chris Finch)

[Joanna]

Over at The Octagon Blog, there's mention of a Radio 4 feature on the play that was on the Today programme yesterday morning. There are soundbites from co-writer Les Smith, director Mark Babych and cast member Jeff Hordley, along with one from Dick Pimm (Bolton goalie during the 1923 FA Cup Final) from 20 years ago. You can listen to it HERE (lasts for a few minutes and is on from roughly 6.45am onwards).

Also on The Octagon Blog...And Did Those Feet - The Movie.... It's a sort of trailer for the play and features some clips from it (Chris can be seen briefly from about 19 seconds in).

HERE is another review of the play. It's from a reviewer (James Ellaby) over at entertainment manchester, and is yet another brilliant one. Here are the bits relating to Chris's scenes....

The most affecting of the stories though centres around the parents of a once-promising young Bolton player called Billy, who died in the War. The Cup run brings lots of memories back for them, and there are touching scenes where his spirit 'interacts' with his distraught dad Alf, while his mum Hilda quickly discovers the healing powers of football, joining the rest of the characters in Cup fever.......

 

......Music is used well in the play, particularly the two famous 'football hymns'. A quiet instrumental version of Abide With Me is played during a very sweet scene between Alf and his dead son Billy......

And the reviewer's summary....

A very evocative, funny and often poignant trip into the days when football really was the people's game.

xx Joanna xx

 

[Fran]

(Chris can be seen briefly from about 19 seconds in).

xx Joanna xx

Oh crumbs... must take tissues, lots of tissues! Just that tiny winy little bit got to me!

Thanks Joanna.

 

[Joanna]

There's an interview with Paul Simpson (the play's Jim Aspinall) over at the Preston and Leyland Citizen. From around halfway in, there's a lil mention of the play and some quotes from Paul on working with his friend Jeff Hordley in it.

xx Joanna xx

 

[angel clare]

Thanks Joanna for giving this extraordinary play the credit that it deserves on here. Any actor, but especially a Bolton born actor ought to be proud of his involvement in this play, which harks back to one of the greatest days in the city's history: the 1923 FA Cup FInal between Bolton and West Ham was the first to be held at the newly built Wembley Stadium. Without tickets, however, the crowd streamed dangerously onto the pitch, but a policeman on a visible white horse called Billy saved the day for one and all. For me this is one of the great moments in inter-war Britain. The story has everything: a wonderful animal, the saving of lives, North v. South and of course Bolton won 2-0.

This is great for Chris Finch.

Kev

 

[Joanna]

Well, another review, another suitably impressed reviewer. This time it's Caroline May over at the UK Theatre Network. She even says the style in which the play is written is "reminiscent of John Godber's golden age".

xx Joanna xx

 

[Booth]

Glad to hear it's going well for Chris's play, he had high hopes for it and it looks like all that hoping has paid off. Worth the first night jitters, eh Chris

 

[Strawbs]

Glad to hear it's going well for Chris's play, he had high hopes for it and it looks like all that hoping has paid off. Worth the first night jitters, eh Chris

Well, they say only good actors have first night jitters.

 

[LovelyLaura]

Thanks for all the info on Chris' play Joanna It's good to hear that it's going well and getting the rave reviews it sounds like it deserves!

 

[Joanna]

Well, if THIS (Manchester Confidential, Nicola Mostyn) turns out to be the last review to come in on the play, it's a really lovely one to end on. Here's an extract....

....this is an ensemble piece and it’s clear from the outset that the play is equipped with a strong cast who capably interpret the production’s colloquial charm and down-to-earth edge.

 

The script’s meaty, earthy humour is a backed by a stripped-down set whose simplicity allows the comedy - as well as the poignancy - to shine. Under the direction of Mark Babych props – a newspaper, a bunch of glowing daffodils - take on an emblematic quality and the nude floorboards and scrubbed, lack of fuss concentrates the emotion so that several scenes featuring Alf (James Quinn) and the ghost of his dead son (Chris Finch), set to music by Bolton composer Arun Ghosh, create immediate, instinctive tears with hardly the need for words.

xx Joanna xx

 

[Fran]

Fantastic, I don't think you could ask for a better review than that!

Everyone connected with the play must be really happy and they should be proud of themselves.

 

[Fran]

I went to see the play today and wasn't surprised to discover all the brilliant reviews were spot on.

It was a wonderful play, full of humour, pathos and Bolton pride and the audience were obviously loving it all the way through. Quite a lot of the audience were pensioners and I could hear various comments being made around me in hushed whispers when something in the play had brought back memories of some kind.

There were several things that stood out for me.

The humour, which was really well written and equally well acted. Jeff Hordley especially made me laugh, he has great comic timing and can raise a giggle just from an expression on his face, which can't be all that easy when your on a stage and not in front of a t.v. camera.

The feeling of family. Individual familes and the 'family' of football fans. They were all clearly defined, so that although you'd only just been introduced to them, in minutes, you felt you knew them, you could imagine their histories even though you never saw them played out. Although there were only five or six football fans visible on stage at the matches, surprisingly, it was easy to imagine them being surrounded by thousands more like them.

The pathos. Well, there were three characters who painted that picture for us, one of which of course, was Chris. I think one of the reviewers mentioned that words weren't really needed for you to feel that pathos coming from the stage, (or words to that effect), and how right they were.

The first time we see Billy's ghost, (Chris) he is simply sat watching and listening to his mum as she 'talks to him', knowing in her heart that he's 'somewhere' listening to her and ( I think...) because she knows he's listening, she's trying hard to sound cheerful and hide her tears. It's very obvious that Billy is hurting 'for her' as he watches her, without a word being spoken.

Later, Billy has a scene with his dad, who is finding it harder to hide the loss he feels for his son and Billy tries to find a way to get though to his dad and help him cope. Played brilliantly by both Chris and James Quinn, it was one that made you hold your breath. (It's the one we get a tiny glimpse of on the Octagon site. I knew when I saw that vid, I was going to love that scene and I wasn't wrong.)

So in just under two hours, they managed to make two families and their hopes, dreams and problems come to life, they made you laugh, made you feel guilty for laughing as they reminded you of how Billy should have been there to share it all, made you want to cry and make you damned glad Bolton won the cup that year!

So thanks to all involved, and a special thanks to Chris.

 

[Joanna]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the play, Fran. It really is as fabulous as the reviewers have been saying, isn't it? Of course, the whole cast are vital in making it so. And on your review...well, it was almost as if I was there watching it myself.

Over at The Octagon Blog...A Real Crowd Pleaser

How lovely.

xx Joanna xx

 

[Joanna]

When it comes to reviews, The Octagon Blog don't just deal in the 'professional', you know...And Did Those Feet - the reviews keep coming

Really deserved, Fran. Nice one.

xx Joanna xx

 

[Joanna]

I thought that Manchester Confidential review might have been the last one we saw on the play....well, I thought wrong! There's yet another good review of the play over at Reviews Gate.

xx Joanna xx

 

[Joanna]

If you scroll to about halfway down THIS Manchester Evening News page, you'll see a great reader review of the play. It's written by Dyan Colclough as an entry for the MEN's "October's Reviewer of the Month". And on Chris....

A few years earlier WWI saw the community waving off their ‘team’ of men folk to fight for King and Country. James Quinn and Susan Twist (Hilda & Alf) brilliantly evoke the full consequences for those left behind when family members paid the ultimate price for victory.

 

Chris Finch convincingly portrays the spirit of their son whose presence shows the futility of a lost generation.

xx Joanna xx

 

[Joanna]

Thanks, Sally!

xx Joanna xx

 

[Fran]

It's the final show tonight.

Well done Chris on giving some fantastic performances that will be long remembered by all those who saw the play! Have a great night tonight!

 

[Joanna]

Yep, hope you have a great time for closing night, Chris.

Over at The Bolton News...Cup Final success is a hit on stage

In the first half of the above, we hear from David Jack's daughter, Gina Blakey, on going to see the play that has her father as such an integral part of it. Then the last half is about David Jack himself.

View attachment 136

xx Joanna xx

PS: How on earth did I get to be 'PSF Forum Queen'?! Pretty cool title, though!

 

[Cop]

Gutted that I couldn't make the performance, i was hoping to see it, but I got caught up in London, then I was let let down by a mate when I was back, and then it was sell out for yesterday and tonight, not even the great Chris Finch could score tickets for me.

Sounds like it been a huge hit, disappointed I missed it

 

[Joanna]

How do? How do? And how's that cup?

xx Joanna xx

PS: Sorry you missed out on seeing it, Cop.