Theatre review - Keenor: The Original Bluebird

This week I was privileged to attend opening night of Keenor: The Original Bluebird, a one-man play written and performed by my friend, Rhys. Here's a review. 

Before I start I have to say this isn't going to be a very objective review. I met Rhys through going to Barry Town matches around the country. Last Saturday I was chatting to him in the Barry club shop. He has talked about this play almost every time I have seen him for months. So I know the hard research he put in to writing it, and the effort he put in promoting it. The phrase 'passion project' comes to mind - and I'm always impressed when people have an idea and then go on to actually make it happen.

Fred Keenor was the captain of Cardiff City when they won the FA Cup final of 1927 - which remains the only time the FA Cup has been won by a team outside England. It was Keenor's second cup final after Cardiff had narrowly lost in 1925. And the play starts with that, incorporating Pathe footage of the defeat before 'Keenor' made an entrance onto the set that was decked out as the Wembley dressing room.

My friend Sara, who is a Cardiff season-ticket holder came to the play with me. The venue was upstairs at Tiny Rebel Brewing in Cardiff. 

The play was in a room next to the kitchen, which wasn't sound-proofed, and occasionally we could also hear passing traffic outside. However, I didn't find the ambient noise a distraction - in a way it added to the performance because it the Wembley dressing room would not have been an isolated, tranquil place.

Rhys's research included talking to Fred Keenor's grandchildren alongside the biographies. The details added authenticity to the scenes set in Roath where he grew up, at Ninian Park where he played, and on the Western Front. Fred was in the 'Footballer's Battalion' and was wounded at the Somme. The contrast between the hollow 'victory' at the end of the War, and the triumph at Wembley a few years later was thought provoking. 

It's difficult to watch plays when you know the person acting - you tend to see them rather than the character they are playing. Perhaps the greatest compliment I can pay Rhys is that it wasn't long before I forgot it was him up there because I was absorbed in the story he was telling. 

Keenor has finished its first run now. However, there is another chance to see it next month if you want to see it too.