Liverpool Drama For Dublin

The show – a huge hit in Liverpool following its premiere on Thursday 9th July 2009 – is set to run at the Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin from Wed June 2 to Sun June 5, 2010.

Written by Nicky Allt, the play focuses on the shenanigans and mayhem that the dramatic night of football heroism brings for four football fans whilst in Istanbul. Nicky explains his inspiration for the play:

“Walking the streets of Istanbul euphoric in victory, the day after witnessing the greatest football fairytale of them all, I knew that one day I would write a piece that would try to encompass that unbelievable high".

The play debuts an audio cameo by Rafa Benitez, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher who recreated the famous half time team talk by recording voice overs which are used in the play.

"Everybody remotely connected to Liverpool has their own JFK style story to tell where they were and what they were doing on that fateful night back in May 2005," a spokesperson for Live Nation, operators of the Grand Canal Theatre told Hot Press. "Most of these stories have now taken on epic proportions leading to the creation of the success of One Night In Istanbul. The first run went on to attract over 26,000 people in just ten days and became the fastest selling Liverpool play of all time. Throughout this time football legends such as Kenny Daglish, Phil Neil, David Fairclough, John Aldridge, plus many more have appeared on stage."

Nicky Allt sets the scene:

“Scousers, Tommy Kelly and Gerry Edwards are in Istanbul hoping their heroes are going to bring ‘ol Big Ears’ back home. Their two sons, Jamie and Joseph tag along, wanting to witness their own little piece of footballing history. A bag of money reaches Liverpudlian hands, alerting two Turkish thieves and a sexy cleaner. Four Scousers, Hitler's Cufflinks and 90 minutes of fireworks is bound to cause trouble at the Mamara Hotel…One Night in Istanbul!’”

The show is produced by Bang On Top Productions and promoted by Live Nation.