Leicester’s Curve theatre has made its critically acclaimed production of Memoirs of an Asian Football Casual available online for free.
Hareet Deol (Suf) and Jay Varsani (Riaz). Photo: Ellie Kurttz Based on Riaz Khan‘s autobiography about football hooliganism and directed by Curve Theatre's Artistic Director Nikolai Foster, this gritty, spirited and colourful production has been made available for one week until Friday 3 April at curveonline.co.uk.
Originally staged at Curve in 2018, the two-hander was adapted by Dougal Irvine and starred Jay Varsani as Riaz and Hareet Deol as Suf.
It is available to watch for free but audiences are being encouraged to support Curve and its work with a discretionary donation.
Drawing on Khan’s Reflections of an Asian Casual, the play is an account of growing up as the son of strict Pakistani parents in the multi-cultural city of Leicester. Riaz finds refuge from the pressures at home to stay true to his cultural roots when he becomes involved in the football “casual” culture and joins Leicester’s infamous “firm” of football hooligans, the “Baby Squad”.
Hareet Deol (Suf) and Jay Varsani (Riaz). Photo: Ellie Kurttz
Decked out in the latest designer gear and ready for a brawl with the rival firm on match day, Riaz and his friends unwittingly create a multi-cultural gang advocating racial tolerance, where the only labels that matter are on the clothes. But as the years go by and the casualties of football firms around the country mount up, Riaz soon discovers the true price of belonging to a subculture of violence.
Set in the 1980s, Memoirs of an Asian Football Casual explores the development of the hybrid youth culture of the time which developed within a shocking culture of violence. The story is vividly brought to life with the characters of Riaz and Suf portraying the various colourful characters they interact with.
The production features set and costume design by Grace Smart, music and sound design by Tasha Taylor Johnson and lighting design by Charlotte Burton.
Mark Ludmon has been a journalist for over 20 years, specialising in writing about theatre and the arts as well as bars, pubs and drink. He has been on the theatre judging panel for London’s Olivier Awards and has a masters degree in English literature, specialising in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. He has an MA in theatre research, criticism and dramaturgy from the University of London’s Royal Central School of Speech & Drama. You can find him tweeting about theatre as @MarkLudmon and writing about theatre at markludmon.com.
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