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AND IF YOU KNOW THE HISTORY?

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Event Date: 5 October 2024

AND IF YOU KNOW THE HISTORY?

Thirty years ago, a Canadian based businessman called Fergus McCann, took over Celtic Football Club.  The takeover brought to an end a very turbulent few years in the club’s history, a history that stretched back 106 years. The club were only eight minutes from that history ending.  

And those turbulent few years are the focus of a new comedy play called And If You Know The History?, to celebrate the 30th anniversary, 

It’s written by Jim Orr, who’s most recent Celtic related comedy play, Bend it like Bertie, played to sold out audiences at the Pavilion Theatre Glasgow before heading to the Westgate International Theatre in Las Vegas.

Jim commented, “playwrighting is a hobby for me, and once I’ve decided which part of the club’s history I’d like to write about, I then really enjoy spending time doing the research, reading books, watching videos, listening to interviews, etc. so that I end up being far more knowledgeable about that part of the club’s history. I then attempt to tell the story in as humorous and off-the wall fashion as possible.  AIYKTH? is no different.

The pre-takeover years were probably the darkest days in Celtic’s history.  As Celtic steadily deteriorated, conversely their main rivals Rangers were having the best period in their history and had every chance of breaking Celtic’s 9 league championships in a row record from the late 60s/early 70s. Also, Celtic were faced with finding tens of millions of pounds to construct an all-seated stadium (following the findings of The Taylor Report into the Hillsborough disaster), while Rangers already had an all-seated stadium.

I was too young to remember the period of Bend it like Bertie (1965), but I lived through the late 80s/early 90s and it wasn’t much fun! In fact, I ended up getting involved in a fans’ protest group (Save Our Celts) and got to meet some of the individuals who helped make the takeover possible, so this play is a bit more personal to me than the other Celtic plays I’ve written.

Also, as it covers six seasons, there is a lot more information that needs to be included compared to my other Celtic plays, and deciding what to leave out was a bit of a challenge, although I think I’ve managed to include all the key events, for example the signing of Mo Johnston. But it is still a madcap comedy!

We follow the unfolding events through the eyes of the Celtic daft Devlin family, Betty, her dad Joe and teenage son Michael. Three generations of Celtic fans, with different views on what the future holds for their beloved team.

The story kicks off after the high of Celtic winning the double in the club’s centenary season in 1988, but things then steadily go downhill for Celtic.  However, in March 1990, a rare victory over Rangers in the Scottish  Cup, gave them cause for optimism.

And as the Devlins celebrated that night, they had a visitor, a very strange man, wearing a bunnet, with a plan! And this visit kicked off a series of events that would change the history of Celtic, forever.

The next few years were an emotional rollercoaster for the Devlins and every other Celtic fan, until the takeover was completed and Fergus McCann’s business ally Brian Dempsey announced outside Celtic Park on a rainy night on 4 March 1994,’the game is over, the rebels have won!’

The seeds were planted that day, which has ultimately led to Celtic becoming the dominant football club in Scotland, achieving unprecedented domestic success over the last decade.

Incidentally, the ‘?’ at the end of the title, signifies that some artistic licence has been used to tell the story of certain parts of the club’s history, this is the off-the wall bit!

The cast comprises of:

  • Matt Costello – Matt has appeared in a host of television, film, and stage productions, but is probably best known for playing Stevie the Bookie in the iconic Still Game.
  • Jerry Taylor – Jerry is best known for starring in and producing ‘Singin I’m No a Billy He’s a Tim.  His new play ‘Blame it on the Bucky’ will be touring next month.
  • Alyson Orr – Alyson has performed in numerous productions at the Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow and also with many other theatre companies, the most recent being, Pitlochry Festival Theatre in ‘Sunshine on Leith’.
  • Kyle Gardiner – Kyle has appeared in a number of stage productions, recently starring in The Funeral Club at Oran Mor. He is also a panto regular and will play the title role of Oor Wullie at Dundee Rep later this year.

And If You Know The History? is on at Websters Theatre, Glasgow from 10 October to 12 October.

Tickets: https://webstersglasgow.com/whats-on/event/and-if-you-know-the-history/