Full casting has been announced for Fever Pitch, a new theatrical adaptation of Nick Hornby’s best-selling memoir about one man’s utter obsession with Arsenal Football Club.
Fever Pitch will open at The Hope Theatre in Islington on 31 August, playing until 25 September, with a press night on 2 September.
Arsenal Football Club have also committed to maintaining existing links with the theatre, and will bring some of the community groups it works with – who might not otherwise have access to arts and culture – into The Hope Theatre to see Fever Pitch. The Hope Theatre will also be releasing 10% of all tickets for Fever Pitch free to residents of Islington.
Fever Pitch will star Ashley Gerlach as ‘Pete/Ensemble’, Gabrielle MacPherson as ‘Sarah/Ensemble’, Jack Trueman as ‘Nick’ and Louise Hoare as ‘Louise/Ensemble’.
Directed by Kennedy Bloomer, the outgoing Artistic Director whose tenure started just as the pandemic hit, Fever Pitch will be her first and last in-house production. She is also a proud Gooner.
“When you’re in love nothing else matters. You become obsessed. And it can get pretty tricky if that obsessive love is directed towards eleven men wearing the same shirt and running around like idiots for ninety minutes every Saturday…”
An exhilarating, moving and brutally funny love letter that will appeal to football obsessives and football haters alike. FEVER PITCH charts over two decades of one man’s total and utter obsession with Arsenal Football Club. A treatise on what it means to be a fanatic and what that means for everyone in our lives who isn’t. From exhilarating, all-encompassing moments of joy and pleasure to totally debilitating and soul-destroying lows, Nick’s obsession infects every aspect of his life. Is it really only a game?
