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A SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD. TITLE
Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 1w, 2m
Philip Catherwood
A fast-paced, energetic and laugh-out-loud Belfast story, The Pitch celebrates the country’s favourite sport and asks the growing question: Will Ireland ever be re-unified?
Sports-mad local boy Robbie has spent his entire life in Sydenham, practicing football every day on his favourite pitch alongside his younger sister, Melissa. Across the city, Deren – a lifelong East Belfast resident and passionate GAA player – has never had a pitch to truly call his own. Everything changes when plans are announced to transform Robbie’s beloved pitch into a Gaelic football ground.
For Robbie, it feels like an invasion of identity. For Deren, it’s a long-awaited opportunity. For Melissa, it’s a chance to discover a sport she’s never given much thought to.
As a United Ireland referendum looms, the trio find themselves repeatedly crossing paths on this contested, ever-changing ground – clashing over everything from Tayto loyalties and Irish street signs to the age-old question: Is it football or soccer? Can Deren open Robbie’s mind to something new – and what might that mean for a changing Northern Ireland? Or is it all too much, too soon for someone so deeply rooted in home?
The Pitch began as a short piece for Rapid Write Response at Theatre503 in 2023. In 2024, it was developed into a full-length play doing a short run at The Space. The play returned to Theatre503 in 2025 before heading to the Lyric Theatre Belfast, Naughton Studio, for a sold-out run in October 2025. It was selected for the Edinburgh National Partnership scheme with Pleasance Theatre Trust and the Lyric Theatre Belfast, returning to the Lyric in July 2026, before doing the full run of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival at Pleasance Courtyard, Baby Grand in August 2026.
ROBBIE – M, 18-21DEREN – M, 19-22MELISSA – W, 15-18
A vast, unkempt football pitch in East Belfast. The present and recent past.
★★★★★ “A rollicking hour of razor-sharp wit and wholehearted writing.” – West End Best Friend
★★★★ “Another football play … but the Gaelic version this time! Exquisitely written.” – A Young(ish) Perspective
★★★★★ “A rollicking hour of razor-sharp wit and wholehearted writing... The writing is dynamic and pacy, it hurtles through and drips in charm and wit... An intelligent commentary of Northern Irish politics and the resonance of the Troubles, The Pitch is a hopeful, magnetic production. Furiously entertaining and wickedly fast, The Pitch might just be the kickabout you didn’t know you needed.” – West End Best Friend
“A chance meeting in the aforementioned local park sparks off conversations, friendship, rivalries and ignorance-fueled conflict among the trio, in a sports-themed drama exploring the complexities of shared spaces and identity in the north... The message of The Pitch is, whatever your opinion of Gaelic football, it’s a fun sport if you just give it a chance.” – Irish News
★★★★★ “Witty, fast-paced.” – London Pub Theatres
“An uplifting, funny, touching evening – a must-see.” – Everything Theatre
★★★★ “A rare statement of hope.” – The Peg Review
“Dramatizes a slice of life of three sports-mad teenagers living in Belfast today, and using a ‘what if’... explores generational divides which can be as entrenched as those which have split Ireland itself. The play is also a celebration of Gaelic football (and a helpful GAA for dummies!) which is apparently played the world over but is rarely featured in the arts.” – Fringe Review
The Pitch – Trailer, Lyric Theatre Belfast
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