Sheffield Theatres has announced the cast for the world premiere of The Ladies Football Club, written by Stefano Massini (The Lehman Trilogy) and adapted by Tim Firth (Calendar Girls). The production runs at the Crucible Theatre from Saturday 28 February to Saturday 28 March 2026, directed by Sheffield Theatres Artistic Director Elizabeth Newman with movement by Frantic Assembly\u2019s Scott Graham.<\/p>\n
One of the most anticipated new plays of 2026, The Ladies Football Club tells a powerful story of friendship and community. With its roots in Sheffield, the play explores the birth of women\u2019s football during World War One, when women stepped into factory roles and discovered a passion for the game that would see them play to crowds of over fifty thousand.<\/p>\n
The cast includes Jessica Baglow (Gentleman Jack) as Rosalyn, Leah Brotherhead (Hullraisers) as Hayley, Lesley Hart (Shetland) as Berenice, Bettrys Jones (The Buddha of Suburbia) as Olivia, Ellie Leach (Coronation Street) as Brianna, Clair Norris (EastEnders) as Melanie, Anne Odeke (Princess Essex) as Justine, Krupa Pattani (Mr Bates vs The Post Office) as Cheryl, Cara Theobold (Downton Abbey) as Violet, Chanel Waddock (Othello) as Penelope, and Charley Webb (Emmerdale) as Abigail. Joy Adeogun (Romeo and Juliet) and Jamie Randall (The House Party) join as Swings.<\/p>\n
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Elizabeth Newman said: \u201cThe cast and creatives coming together for The Ladies Football Club bring extraordinary imagination, rigour, and heart to a story that demands to be seen and heard now. It honours the courage and collective spirit at the root of the history of women\u2019s football, while pushing boldly into the present. The Ladies Football Club does not simply celebrate an important moment in history \u2013 it reclaims it. I am so excited to create this piece of storytelling with such a great team of people!\u201d<\/p>\n
Stefano Massini added: \u201cI read that the majority of the world\u2019s population is female. But the rules and power are firmly in the hands of us men. This is what my play is about: a moment in time when a group of women, while their husbands were away fighting at the front, took the ball and made women\u2019s football history. It\u2019s a story I loved telling, because it\u2019s the sum of eleven stories, those of each of the workers who made up that dream team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tim Firth said: \u201cThe story of the birth of women\u2019s football is intrinsically linked to its disappearance. The excitement I felt on reading Stefano\u2019s funny and lyrical verse drama was the challenge of creating a play that was a football match: told as much in movement as in words by eleven players who never leave the field, who support each other, fight each other and discover a passion for something forbidden. It is a tale told in two halves with some critical extra time and, tragically for the women involved, no V.A.R.\u201d<\/p>\n