Type: Storytelling, Spoken Word, Solo Show
If You Liked:
If I’m being honest, seeing a show fundamentally entirely centred around the love of sports, in the middle of the southern hemisphere’s biggest arts festival, does feel a touch like standing in the other team’s locker room. Yet I left Why I Stuck A Flare Up My Ar*e for England feeling elated and as passionate about this play, my sport if you will, as the lead character does about his.
Since the play’s debut in 2023 it has earned dozens of five star reviews, and it’s very easy to see why it’s returned to Adelaide Fringe (ironically to Holden Street Theatre, literally next door to Adelaide’s Soccer Oval) after winning Best Theatre during the 2025 Festival. Within moments the show is off at such pace, ducking, weaving, and scoring goal after goal as it tells the story of Billy, a British soccer fan, bordering on hooligan, inspired by the image of the ‘committed’ individual who stuck a flare up his bum on the eve of England’s 2020 World Cup Final against Italy.
The piece gives you what it says on the tin, and so much more. The script gives such a deep insight into the blinkered lifestyle ‘fanatics’, who often lead out of love of “the game” and what they lose or sacrifice in the process, from the loss of relationships, jobs, and communities. Its exploration of fan culture and the masculinity that comes with “the love of the game” is unrivalled at this year’s festival.
Writer and star, Alex Hill, is utterly mesmerising. Hill is so settled into the show that he can cut away for banter with the audience and then slip back into the show seamlessly. Directed by Sean Turner, the work leaves no one behind. As in life, moments of utter devastation can come out of the blue when someone you think you know, and you think is “going okay,” is not, so it’s a gut punch when the show reaches its climax, giving the audience a stark and profound reminder of what is at stake when we don’t take moments to check in on our mates.
If any soccer team could score as many goals as this show, they’d simply be unbeatable. The show has concluded its return Australian season and is next heading to a limited final engagement in London’s West End. If Hill brings this show to a venue, city, festival, or streaming platform near you, I highly recommend checking it out.
See our other reviews from the Adelaide Festival in the link below
Tickets and Practical Info for Why I Stuck A Flare Up My Ar*e For England at Adelaide Fringe Festival 🎟️
Why I Stuck A Flare Up My Ar*e For England (Fringe SA, UK Production)
Reviewed by Joshua Maxwell
Roxydog Productions, Holden St
Season 21 Feb – 15 March 2025
Tickets: Season concluded
