Purely Belter play makes it to the West End
A play that began life in a 60-seat theatre pub has made it to the West End.
Gerry and Sewell tells the story of two men from Gateshead with no money, who make it their mission to get their hands on Newcastle United season tickets.
The show was first performed in Whitley Bay and is based on Jonathan Tulloch's novel The Season Ticket, which was adapted into the cult Geordie film Purely Belter.
The play's writer and director Jamie Eastlake said seeing it performed on one of London's best-known stages was "surreal".
"The story is universal," he said. "It's two people who are chasing a dream.
"It is the heart of Gerry and Sewell which is the most important thing, but it is a family drama as well."
The show was first planned as a one-night performance, but a two-week run at the Aldwych Theatre became available at short notice, giving the Tyneside-based team just 11 weeks to get everything ready.
For most of the cast, it is their first time performing in the West End.
Newcastle actors Dean Logan and Jack Robertson, who play Gerry and Sewell, said they were "absolutely buzzing" to be making their debut in the capital.
Packed with regional references and local dialect, the play is a love letter to Newcastle.
Eastlake, a lifelong Newcastle United fan, said seeing black-and-white flags on the Strand had not yet sunk in.
"My mam is coming at the weekend," he said.
"That's when it will hit because people from Blyth don't usually get to produce shows on the West End especially about subject matters like this."
Gerry and Sewell runs at the Aldwych Theatre until 24 January and at Newcastle Theatre Royal from 9 to 13 June.
