John Dillon’s 'WEARING COLOURS' To Be Performed In Liverpool For The First Time In 15 Years

John Dillon’s 'WEARING COLOURS' About The Heysel Stadium Disaster Is Set To Be Performed At Hope Street Theatre In Liverpool For The First Time In 15 Years

John Dillon’s 'WEARING COLOURS' is set to be performed in Liverpool for the first time in 15 years (Credit: Sidehammer Productions/Supplied By Publicist).

WEARING COLOURS is a play set before and in the immediate aftermath of the Heysel Stadium Disaster on the 29th May in 1985.

The play explores the differing reactions of four unique individuals who attended the game on that fateful night.

In 1985, Liverpool and Juventus contested the European Cup Final in Brussels. Events off the pitch rendered the match meaningless. Based in an Ostend hotel room, four fans give voice to the emotions of that tragic evening; from the optimistic pre-match expectations to the angry inquests of the immediate aftermath.

The Play was written by Liverpool Writer, John Dillon, and performed only five months after the tragedy by the Vauxy Theatre.

It received excellent reviews and subsequently went on to have great success at the Edinburgh Festival the following year, even being the subject of a BBC documentary. The play reopened in the Liverpool Playhouse Studio once more to great acclaim by audiences.

Wherever it was seen, it touched a nerve and allowed fans to grieve for the victims, a grief which had been suppressed by associated guilt. But the play was not just about Heysel, not just for LFC supporters and not just for football fans.

It’s content was a comment on the human condition, when people become embroiled in unexpected and challenging events, reacting in very personal ways.

The play went on to be made into a TV drama and was broadcast on ITV in the Yorkshire television region on the 29th May 1990. The play was last performed in Liverpool in September 2008 at the Unity Theatre.

John Dillon’s 'WEARING COLOURS' is set to be performed in Liverpool for the first time in 15 years (Credit: Sidehammer Productions/Supplied By Publicist).

Presented by Sidehammer Productions, Directed by Sean Ponzini and starring Dave J Williamson, Daniel Owen, Christopher Lawless and Thom Williamson, WEARING COLOURS returns to Liverpool at the Hope Street Theatre this April.

• Sunday 23rd April - LIMITED AVAILABILITY LEFT.

• Monday 24th April - SOLD OUT.

• Tuesday 25th April - SOLD OUT.

Praise for previous productions of WEARING COLOURS includes Cliff Morgan of BBC Radio 4, saying: 'This bold, honest and brilliant play about what is, after all ‘a beautiful game', should, I believe, be seen in every town in the country.'