Fringe review: Why I Stuck a Flare Up My Ar** For England
In a frenetic, perceptive, often brilliant sixty minutes, writer and performer Alex Hill explores the agonies, ecstasies and desperate endgames of a London football fanatic. ★★★★★
Bursting into the confines of the Holden Street Studio comes Billy. Amped up, dressed in his national team’s strip, he is ready for battle — for England, St George, and Harry Maguire. So ready, in fact, that in his manic patriotism, outside Wembley alongside other ticketless fans, he jams a flare in his rear end and lights it like a maniacal candle prayer for victory.
Billy is a fiction based on a crazy prank which went viral on the internet in 2020 when England lost on penalties to Italy in the UEFA Euro final. No one knows anything about the actual bum rocket geezer, but Alex Hill has built a story about football, friendship, the need to belong, and the reckless self-destruction of male anger and alienation.
Against a backdrop consisting of a giant mosaic of English red cross flags, Billy describes a life in search of purpose and meaning. His mother has died, and he helps his father run a hair salon. It is a job, but he is a sweeper, not a stylist. He has a childhood friend, Adam with whom he shares a sacred passion for football. Like Nick Hornby in his book Fever Pitch, Hill admires the bonds and camaraderie of football fandom.
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But when the drinks at the pub where the Wimbledon FC fans hang out lead to escalating lager frenzies, turbo-charged with cocaine, Billy and the reluctant Adam have morphed into football hooligans. Hanging out with Winegum and his crew, and brawling with rival fans.
Crisply directed by Sean Turner, Alex Hill’s engaging, upbeat portrayal of a London lad is inflected with pathos and unease from the outset. We follow the disintegration of Billy’s relationship with his girlfriend Daisy — and also, Adam — and we are unprepared for the consequences. This perceptive, affecting and keenly judged monologue is about a lot more than England losing a cup on penalties. It is sending up a signal saying help is needed.
Five Stars (and a rocket)
Why I Stuck a Flare Up My Ar** For England is playing in the Studio, Holden Street Theatres until March 23.