An Evening with Gary Lineker

by Arthur Smith & Chris England

An Evening with Gary Lineker had 4 performances about 22 years ago (between the 10th of April 2002 and the 13th of April 2002) at The Magna Carta Theatre

An Evening with Gary Lineker, transports us back to the Summer of 1990 and The World Cup Tournament hosted by Italy. An event whose soundtrack was provided by Pavarotti - Nessun Dorma echoing around the stadiums giving both the matches and the tournament as a whole a mythic stature. England’s chances were not favourable, but after a number of memorable victories, most notably against Cameroon, England found themselves in the Semi-finals, facing their arch-enemies Germany.

Could they make it to the final? We all hoped…. The game is remembered for a number reasons; Lineker’s goal, Gazza’s tears and the infamous penalty shoot-out. Both gripping and tragic, the match has become emBedded in the national psyche. This had been the best chance of bringing the World Cup trophy back to England since 1966, but we were once again beaten by Germany, and to make matters even worse, on penalties.

This hilarious and often touching play starred Caroline Quentin, Paul Merton, Clive Owen, Nick Hancock and Martin Clunes in its various incarnations on stage and tv.

Bill and Monica are on holiday, trying to rekindle their troubled marriage. Monica dreams of an affair with Gary Lineker, though in fact she has been seeing a friend of Bill's, travel writer, Dan Hudson. Circumstances change when Dan unexpectedly arrives at their hotel. Together, in the company of Bill's colleague and the attractive local German tour rep they settle down to watch the game on TV. Through ninety minues, extra time and the infamous penalty shoot out, the field of battle switches between the hotel and the Italian football pitch as Monica, Bill and the England team approach the inevitable .....