The Red Lion, National Theatre ****

Patrick Marber writes human life well. With this comeback play after a long hiatus, Marber's love letter to football with a piece about a young footballer, the manager and the kitman of a non-league football club. A result of the writers relationship with Lewes FC, the first half shows his love for the game. The speech at the beginning from Daniel Mays has a poetry to it when bemoaning the state of the pitch ('you can play... but you can't play...'). There are some parts of dialogue which evoked memories of my time at a football club, especially when it came to faking it slightly. The first half is truly wonderful and it flies by. The second half is when the beauty of the game is corrupted by power and money and is heartbreaking to sit through. The final moments of the play are painful to watch and is a perfect end to this play. Yes, the second half starts to drag slightly and could do with more than a few cuts, it made me forget my hatred for the space it was playing in and really feel for the characters. This is perhaps due to the extraordinary performances which brings to life the multi- dimensional characters Marber has written. Peter Wright is inviting and easy to listen to whilst Mays is, in contrast, harsh and, whilst comic, also dark. Calvin Demba is also wonderful as the young prospect Jordan after a disastrous previous production at the Royal Court. Ian Rickson's direction handles makes the lack of a full team of actors not seem strange whilst Ward's design captures the grime and harsh nature of non-league football. Whilst slightly long, this piece is magnetic and captures a different side to the beautiful game and tells it theatrically in a way that both makes you love and hate the sport.