Sell-out LFC play returns following success

The hugely successful play ‘One Night in Istanbul’ is set for a return this May following its hugely successful 10-day run in July 2009.

The play is centred around the experiences of two fans and their two sons, as they travel to Istanbul for Liverpool’s historic Champions League Final with AC Milan on 25th May 2005.

Inspired by arguably one of the greatest footballing comebacks of all time, the return of play will run from 17th – 29th May at the Liverpool Empire Theatre. More than 25,000 people watched the play during its previous production in 2009, and it became the fastest selling Liverpool play of all time.

After watching the final himself, Liverpool writer Nicky Allt was inspired to write a story about his experiences in Istanbul and three months later he had completed the story.

He said: “I was on a beach in Bulgaria after the game and decided I needed to write something about it. The supporters in Istanbul definitely inspired me to write it – they were magnificent and won the game for us.”

Many of the original cast are set to reprise their roles, with Neil Fitzmaurice taking the place of comedian John Bishop, who plays Tommy. It won’t be the first Istanbul-related play Fitzmaurice has starred in, having previously played the part of Rafa Benitez in the film ‘15 minutes That Shook The World.’

Marc Hughes plays two roles in the play - a Turkish thief called Hakan and a Liverpool fan, Lenny.

He said: "Playing the part of Hakan was a bit of a challenge at first as the accent was so hard to master. But after watching clips of 'Midnight Express' and repeating it again and again it soon became a lot easier, which then meant that I could experiment with the part and begin to have a lot of fun with it.

"Obviously being part of 'One Night In Istanbul' is brilliant. Its always great when you feel you've really achieved something or been a part of something successful. So when you have your name attached to something like 'One Night in Istanbul' it gives you a great sense of pride to know that you are part of something that has rightly earned its recognition."

The success of the show is expected to continue with an experienced cast ready to reprise their roles.

Mr Allt said: “We had a hungry cast last time around and the chemistry on and off stage was great - they’re all hungry for success again this time.”

One of the key factors that Nicky identifies in the success of the play is the comfort zone he found himself in whilst writing it. The experiences he had during the final made for an easier writing experience.

“It definitely helped me that I knew exactly what I was writing about. I had firsthand experience of Istanbul and felt a lot more in my comfort zone because I was writing what I knew, and I think its best sticking with what you know for something like this.

“The first time around it took us between six and nine months to get everything right before its debut. We are probably looking at just six months this time with no time for laziness as its all hard work, and tenacity is required to make sure it’s as good as last time.”