Special performances at Sixfields this summer
A unique collaboration between Fermynwoods Contemporary Art, Royal & Derngate Northampton, and Northampton Town Football Club brings an interactive, audio-visual performance The Twelfth Player to Sixfields Stadium. This world premiere production runs from 22 June to 12 July, with special previews on 19 and 23 May.
The Twelfth Player was inspired by the most dramatic and euphoric season in the Cobblers’ long and colourful history. In the dark days of November 2015, the club was deep in trouble. Staff and players were not getting paid, and Administration was a very real possibility. But through the dedication of their extraordinary fans – the team’s twelfth player – they made an amazing recovery, welcoming a remarkable takeover, bouncing back into League One and winning the Club’s first League title for 29 years.
Lovers of the beautiful game will be guided around Sixfields, in groups of four, through instructions heard on their headphones, as they observe a unique site-specific performance, simultaneously taking place in the real world and on an iPod screen.
Viewing the passionate world of football through the eyes of three generations of a family of Northampton Town Football Club’s fans, audiences will experience the highs and lows of the past seventy years of the club’s history, travelling behind the scenes on a 40 minute walking tour around Sixfields Stadium.
The show has been created by Susanne Thomas and Sophie Jump, of the Seven Sisters Group, who, during these eventful past couple of years, researched the club’s history and met many of those who have helped to define it. They have spoken with a wide range of people, from staff and fans, to players and the volunteer mascot Clarence, to draw out their individual experiences and gain a unique perspective on what matters to the Cobblers and their fans.
Guiding audiences seamlessly between characters inspired by real fans and placing them at the heart of the sporting action, the Seven Sisters Group will create a playful and uplifting performance for all the family, combining domestic drama with the drama of the game, and delving into the fantasy worlds with which young supporters entertain themselves during games, imagining gladiator battles and flying dragons.
Exploring passion, loyalty and sense of belonging of the world of football, The Twelfth Player runs at Sixfields Stadium from Thursday 22 June to Wednesday 12 July (no performances on Mondays), with special previews on Friday 19 and Tuesday 23 May. For a full schedule of dates and times visit www.royalandderngate.co.uk or call Royal & Derngate Box Office on 01604 624811. Tickets are just £5* each. This production has received funding support from Arts Council England.
Northampton Town football chants supplied by fanchants.com
Made in Northampton is sponsored by Michael Jones Jeweller.
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* A charge of £3 applies for all transactions over £15. Does not apply to Groups, Friends or Disabled Patrons, and is per-transaction, not per-ticket.