Theatre
Getting the Third Degree
The powerful and deeply moving story of Laurie Cunningham, the first black footballer to play for and the first to represent England at senior level, produced by RoughHouse Theatre and Live Wire Theatre.
Cunningham came to prominence with West Bromwich Albion in the late 1970s. The first of the black footballing trio famously dubbed The Three Degrees – Laurie Cunningham, with his swaggering style and dazzling skills forced favourable comparisons with the legendary Pele. The first black footballer to sign for the mighty Real Madrid and only the second to win a full cap for England, he inspired a whole generation of young black players to follow in his pioneering footsteps.
Getting The Third Degree was commissioned by Kick it Out to recognise the 25th anniversary of its ongoing battle against discrimination in football. In dramatising Laurie Cunningham’s meteoric rise to stardom, Getting The Third Degree also explores how he and his fellow black players – Brendon Batson and Cyrille Regis – triumphed over the racial abuse and physical threats often orchestrated by The National Front through a potent combination of footballing brilliance, charismatic style and compelling dignity.
Incorporating 1970s funk, soul and blues, contemporary commentary and social and political speeches, Getting The Third Degree vividly recreates a tense and troubled period in the history of football and wider society.
Oct 22, 7.30pm, £10. For more info, visit thewardrobetheatre.com/livetheatre/getting-the-third-degree
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