New fixtures lined up for The Bench, a play by TV favourite Jeff Brown
Former BBC man Jeff Brown’s second play, The Bench, is returning for a regional tour, co-produced by CaroleW Productions and Gala Durham.
The play, which premiered in 2023 with a short run at The Customs House, South Shields, is billed as “a touching and humorous tale about love, loss and football”.
It tells of Vicky, a hard-working single mum, and Adi, an overseas signing by the local football club who is struggling to meet expectations on the pitch.
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Adi often finds himself on the bench at matches, which is to say sitting among the substitutes, and it’s on a park bench that an unlikely friendship is forged.
Explained Jeff: “I wanted to shine a light on the pressures faced by young people trying to survive and pursue their dreams in today’s world, whether they’re dealing with family responsibilities or the intense scrutiny that comes with professional sport.
“It’s a football setting but it's a universal story.”
The former Look North presenter, who covered news and sport in the region for 40 years, took inspiration for the character of Vicky from his role as a patron of Sunderland Carers.
In writing the character of Adi, he thought back to Britt Assombalonga, who was born in the Congo but left to pursue a football career and wound up at Middlesbrough.
Now the play is to make a comeback, directed by Olivia Millar-Ross, with a month-long tour kicking off at Gala Durham on May 22, 2025.
Carole Wear, whose past productions include Haddock & Chips, Limelight and A Way Home, says: “The Bench is a play rooted in the North East but with universal appeal.
“It’s a beautiful piece in which Jeff has masterfully tackled global issues of displacement, racism in sports and life on the breadline, weaving them into a tender, funny and heart-warming love story.
“We’ve assembled a wonderful creative team to do justice to this beautiful work and we’re excited to tour the region and share it with audiences far and wide.”
After Gala Durham on May 22, the play will travel to theatres and community venues across the North East and Cumbria before concluding with two performances back at The Customs House on June 20 and 21.
The tour will be supported by Show Racism the Red Card, the UK’s leading anti-racism educational charity, which will have a presence at every performance and participate in post-show discussions.
To see the full list of tour dates and book tickets, visit the website.