This production, written by John Davies and directed by Matt Rutter stars Paul Duckworth as the loyal football fan who travels to Istanbul with his mates to watch his beloved Liverpool football team battle for the Champions League trophy.
The show was inspired by the real-life experience of Liverpool fan, Mark Radley and a factual encounter inside the Ataturk Stadium on May 25, 2005 at The Champions League Final, when he followed his team to Istanbul and after becoming desolate at seeing Liverpool 0-3 down at half-time, set off in search of a drink, only to find himself in what turned out to be the private VIP area seated next to AC Milan president and Italy’s then Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi.
Actor Paul Duckworth reprises his one-man performance which was first seen at the original run in 2009, playing dozens of different characters. It is a heavy script which involves replicating family members and friends, and he has a lot of dialogue to remember and perform. The script is full of Liverpool colloquialisms and use of swear words and bad language so may not be to everyone’s taste.
The set is stark with just two red chairs and a table covered in a red tablecloth; red spotlights and red strip lights adorn the black backdrop with a large screen projection displaying videos and photographs. It was a full house of diehard Liverpool football fans who cheered as photographs of Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and veteran players such as Tommy Smith were shown and booed loudly as videos of Margaret Thatcher were shown. The audience re-lived memories via videos of the Toxteth riots in the 1980’s and nostalgic pictures of Liverpool landmarks plus remembered the war in Iraq and the tragic events at Heysel and at Hillsborough.
The Dome auditorium is dark and cavernous void of any real ambiance; the acoustics aren’t what they should be, and the building itself has fallen into disrepair and neglect. Additionally, the seating isn’t perfect, fold-up aluminium chairs with no backs to lean on makes it uncomfortable and they are placed too close together, plus tickets have no seating numbers so it is a bit of a free-for-all and a first-come, first-served, arrangement. There is a bar in the auditorium which is open throughout the performance which means people are coming and going getting drinks thus disturbing the enjoyment of the show by blocking the view to the stage; all seats are on the same level, so it is somewhat difficult to see the stage properly through the sea of heads in front.
Unfortunately, there were some sound issues during the performance. Duckworth wore a head mic but it was difficult to catch what he was saying at times, particularly when he moved his head quickly to the left or right and I could see members of the audience straining to hear what he was saying which was a shame as most of the dialogue was humorous repartee and jokes which were left hanging mid-air, the audience not able to enjoy the taglines or quips.
This show will appeal especially to Liverpool football fans who have a major reason to celebrate this production at this time as Liverpool have proved themselves champions again, 20 years after that iconic evening in Istanbul, by being placed at the top of the Premier League at the final weekend of the football season. This show is an exploration of working-class pride, obsession, and political engagement and football culture, particularly of Liverpool FC and its fans.
This show runs for two nights, this
performance was staged on 23rd May, it then moves to the newly
reopened Epstein Theatre, Liverpool on 24th May 2025.
Tickets are available from https://beatingberlusconi.com
Reviewer – Anne Pritchard
On – 23.5.25
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