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Women of the match: Cast of football theatre show The Wolves train with West Ham coach

The Other Richard
The Other Richard

The London cast of a play nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in the US have been getting into character with help from a top coach.

The Wolves, by American Sarah DeLappe, follows an all-female high school football team as they try to remain unbeaten in their league, while negotiating the challenges of growing into young women.

They discuss politics, boyfriends and make-up in the locker room — but training is never far from their minds.

It meant the actors had to develop some skills, so they spent two weeks training under Dave Green, a development officer for West Ham United Foundation.

The organisation is an outreach programme of the Premier League club, in Beckton.

The European premiere of the show will be held at Theatre Royal Stratford East from October 24, two years after its debut on Broadway in New York.

A review in The New York Times said: “The scary, exhilarating brightness of raw adolescence emanates from every scene”.

The Wolves won the American Playwriting Foundation’s inaugural Relentless Award and was a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The cast in London includes Annabel Baldwin, who appeared in Harry Potter And The Cursed Child in the West End, Shalisha James-Davis, who appeared in ITV series Vera this year, and Rosabell Laurenti Sellers from Game Of Thrones.

Director Ellen McDougall said: “The Wolves is an exceptional new play by Sarah DeLappe that centres the experience of young women.

“Following its success in New York, I’m so excited to direct the European premiere at Theatre Royal Stratford East and to be part of Nadia Fall’s thrilling opening season.”

stratfordeast.com