Through It All Together at Leeds Playhouse – review

At times, I felt something of an outsider at this overwhelmingly positive occasion, punctuated by chants and singing from the audience – all nicely disciplined, one must add – culminating in a standing ovation. “Well, you’re not Leeds United, are you?” said an acquaintance of mine, wearing his Leeds shirt. So here is a Barnsley fan’s reaction (unprejudiced, of course) to Through It All Together. 

One question one must ask is how far an outsider should be expected to understand what is going on. The recitation of Leeds teams like a mantra is forgivable, but for the owner of the Corner Post Cafe to give a lecture on the life of United Argentine manager Marcelo Bielsa is a bit much. Again, I could not fathom the guffaws that accompanied Dean Smith’s comic and excessively Spanish director: it turns out that a certain Victor Orta brought Bielsa to Leeds. The two podcast guys (Smith and Everal A Walsh) are easy enough to follow, but for a nagging doubt that they are also real people, and I am hence missing out on some of the fun.

The play begins in 2018 on a divided set: a comfortable, old-fashioned kitchen-living room underneath some wooden arches with a platform for Elland Road terraces and other action – and then a stained glass window representing Saint Marcelo. At the start of the play, Bielsa is appointed soon after Howard Wright has been diagnosed with dementia. The plot covers the next two years, with Bielsa gaining promotion after a near-miss in the first season and Howard deteriorating to the point where he faces being put in a home.

So the two overlapping stories work together. At the outset, Howard is unwilling to go to Elland Road because he thinks people will notice the change in him (he goes eventually); at the end, he absorbs with difficulty (and no doubt temporarily) the news that Leeds have won promotion and his ultimate song and dance is the result of genuine, but not lasting, joy. The threads coincide at times, as in Howard’s visit to the Corner Post Cafe, where he is intensely puzzled at all the references to Argentina.

The story of Leeds United is in the capable multi-tasking hands of Smith and Walsh, always skilfully bobbing up as the next pair of Elland Roaders. Chris O’Connor’s script gives them plenty of comedy to work with, and they excel throughout: Walsh’s prayer to God is a treat!

O’Connor has researched dementia thoroughly, and Gitika Buttoo’s production has the services of a dementia consultant, Dr Nicky Taylor. The result is a convincing and sympathetic performance from Reece Dinsdale, seemingly in control at the beginning, but gradually seeing holes in his memory appearing: was he at the care home and did he paint that picture? His capacity for enjoyment within his range of understanding never leaves him: he unexpectedly reminisces about Filey Brigg with his daughter.

In early 2020, things suddenly get worse, Bielsa’s title charge temporarily derailed by the Covid epidemic. Howard’s wife Sue falls victim and his repeated confused questions of “Where’s Sue?” are among the more moving sections of the production. She returns, restored, and remains devoted, if somewhat eccentric, in Shobna Gulati’s resourceful performance. Natalie Davies’ role as the daughter remains somewhat underdeveloped, but she provides an attractive, if rather too quiet, presence.

O’Connor has produced a piece which will surely enter Leeds United folklore, but perhaps not one you would want to tour.