The drama of Villa’s big day
The Birmingham Rep is celebrating the 40th anniversary of Villa’s finest hour. STUART LARGE chats to the writer, and the European Cup-lifting Dennis Mortimer
FORTY years ago this month, Aston Villa beat Bayern Munich by a single goal to become European champions.
Pundits didn’t give them a chance, but their triumph in Rotterdam has gone down in history – and has now proved the inspiration for writer Paul Hunter’s comedy play Would You Bet Against Us?
For writer / performer Paul – a Villa fan, of course – it was a pub quiz that got him thinking.
‘‘The question was, ‘how many English clubs have won the European Cup?’. Liverpool, Man Utd and Chelsea were the easy ones, a few got Nottingham Forest, but I think only one other team got Aston Villa.’’
And in that moment he realised the lead character was unfolding – the Underdog. Kyll Thomas-Cole plays the 16-year-old Paul, who, like his football team, is told he doesn’t stand a chance.
The Birmingham Rep describes Would You Bet Against Us? as ‘‘a hilarious, poignant and uplifting show about challenging expectations and proving people wrong’’.
Said Paul: ‘‘I had really ambitious plans to begin with – a school football match on stage. But I have a talented producer who knows how to challenge my thinking and reign me back.’’
His theatre company, Told By An Idiot, has a reputation for pushing creative boundaries in storytelling and this one is no different.
So what made Villa the underdogs in ‘82? Bayern Munich had won their domestic league in ’80 and ’81, despite being in a so-called lean patch. Their mid-70s golden era was led by Franz Beckenbauer, yet Villa would still face Paul Breitner and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
On the flip side, Villa had experienced a change of manager en-route to the final. So what was the pre-match team talk was like from captain or manager?
‘‘‘It was straightforward, everyone knew their roles; you don’t let the occasion get in the way,’’ Dennis Mortimer, Villa’s captain on the night, tells me, adding: ‘‘The motivation was the trophy.’’
What put Villa on course for European victory back then? Was there a sense as they progressed that it would be their year?
‘‘We had a feeling and some hope,’’ explains Dennis. ‘‘But the second and third rounds were really tough. We beat Dynamo Berlin on away goals and Dynamo Kyiv. They were the top teams and fielded plenty of internationals.’’
But Villa’s course to the final was almost derailed by matters off pitch.
‘‘Our fans and theirs became mixed up in the stands,’’ said Dennis referring to the semi-final played at Anderlecht.
‘‘They clearly didn’t have a good handle on policing and some fans spilled onto the pitch. There was one Villa fan who laid down in the six yard box strangely.’’
Whilst Youtube footage endorses a woeful lack of stewarding and no barriers, Anderlecht complained to UEFA claiming foul play and it took Dennis Howell, MP for Birmingham Small Heath and Minister of Sport, to send a rebuttal and fight the club’s corner.
The galvanising affect of winning the trophy has ensured that the group of players are still in contact. And Dennis will be joined by former team-mates Kenny Swain and Tony Morley for a post-show Q&A on May 20.
Would You Bet Against Us? runs at The Door, Birmingham Rep, from May 19 to June 4.
MARK Wahlberg is used to being pitched all manner of film ideas, but he was caught off guard by the proposal for Father Stu.
It was six years ago when the topic of the biographical drama film, which marks one man’s improbable journey from boxer to priest, first came up.
“I was sitting at a restaurant in Beverley Hills with two priests (from my parish)”, begins the 50-year-old A-lister, a practising Catholic.
“It was a Saturday, they had just done lots of confessions and one priest just wanted to eat, have a glass of wine and go back to the rectory and go to bed,” he recalls. “And the other priest was adamant about pitching me a movie he wanted to make with me.
“I’m thinking, you do your job and I’ll do mine. I wasn’t there to find the next script. I was looking for the things I needed to stay on a path in the direction of spiritual growth.”
But something about the clergyman’s story stuck with him.
Based on real life events, the passionate pitch detailed the life of Stuart Long, a Montana-born-andraised former boxer who moves to LA following an abrupt end to his amateur career in the ring.
Dreaming of stardom, yet working in a supermarket, he meets Carmen (Teresa Ruiz), a Catholic Sunday school teacher who was all but immune to his charms.
Determined to win her over, he starts attending church, but life is soon flipped on its head when surviving a terrible motorcycle accident leaves him wondering if he can use his second chance to help others by becoming a Catholic priest.
“The more I heard about
Stu, the more convinced I was that I had to get this movie made,” says Mark, who takes the title role and also produces.
“I’ve always felt like, OK, what am I supposed to be doing? Because I am a man of faith and I feel like I’ve been very blessed and very fortunate, but what do I do with that? How do I utilise that for the greater good of
God?
“And then it just dawned on me, this is a movie that will change people’s lives and bring people closer together and reaffirm their faith,” asserts the Ted star.
He asked his priest “to tell me the story again from the beginning, and from that point on it was my mission to produce the film”.
Joining the Boston-born actor in the movie are Academy Award Winner Mel Gibson and Academy Award Nominee Jacki Weaver, who play Long’s sceptical, estranged parents.
Friend and fellow Catholic filmmaker Mel, 66, not only proved a source of strength for Mark (“I wanted to talk to him about getting his film The Passion of the Christ made, which had really inspired me”), it also led him to land the feature’s screenwriter – and eventual director – in Rosalind Ross, Gibson’s longtime partner.
“The film looks like she’s done it a hundred times, and it’s the first time!” Mel says proudly. “And she had 30 days to do it, which is not much, and she did it competently and intelligently. She’s a very talented young woman.”
What was it about this story that resonated?
“It was a real story about real
people,” answers the Braveheart star. “They swear, they drink, he chases girls... He was just a regular guy, and it was just interesting to see how people like us relate to tragedy or infirmity and how they overcome that.
“His personal choice was to divorce himself from his own ego and realise there was something greater than him and gain humility. So it’s a pretty good message!”
Mark was equally moved by the redemptive narrative. The father-offour spent time in jail for assault when he was 16 and within 10 years was winning acclaim as an actor, and saw parallels between his own life and Long’s.
“I’ve always looked for roles that have a personal connection for me,” he explains.
“I transitioned from running the streets as a teenager and young adult to finding my faith. I now realise that my purpose is to help others growing up in situations like mine.”
The one-time rapper-turned Oscar-winning producer is now the founder of the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation, a charitable organisation dedicated to improving the quality of life for inner-city youth.
It’s never too late for redemption, he says, having quoted his Catholic faith as “the most important part” of his life.
“It’s a huge disservice for us to turn our backs on people or to put ourselves on a soapbox and judge somebody else, that’s not our place. “Nobody is beyond redemption, so we’re not going to give up on people, we’re going to support them and encourage them to do the right thing.
“Even with this movie, you see Father Stu was on a path of destruction until he found his calling, and then he turned his life around in a way that he affected so many people in such a short amount of time,” he reasons.
“I know Stu is challenging me now every day, to continue to echo his message: how am I going to step up and do more to help people? If people know that they are loved and that they’re supported, it’s a very powerful thing.”
And seeing it played out on the big screen can only be a good thing, he adds.
As for the passion in bringing this vision to life, from cast and crew alike, “you don’t get that in all these other actor-for-hire movies,” he observes. “This is something that’s really special and doesn’t come around that often.”
Can he see himself doing more of the same genre in future?
“I am interested in doing a lot more in the faith-based space and just making more meaningful content that has substance and that I think could be helpful.
“But I’ll still make movies that are comedies and senseless movies that will make people laugh and escape for two hours,” he smiles.
“I want to do it all, but I always feel drawn to especially true stories and movies that have meaning. This by far is the most personal and, I think, the most important, so here we are.”
Father Stu is opening in cinemas on Friday