Red Or Dead: Peter Mullan makes a monumental Bill Shankly

Telegraph

03-04-2025

The red carpet was rolled out at Liverpool's Royal Court theatre for the press night of Red or Dead, Phillip Breen's stage adaptation of David Peace's novel about the legendary manager of Liverpool FC, Bill Shankly. Local heroes – including former England and Liverpool player John Barnes, and comedian John Bishop – were among those who came to see TV and film star Peter Mullan's return to the stage as the beloved Shankly.
Merseyside is renowned for its love of football, so it's no surprise that Liverpool's Royal Court – as a purveyor of popular theatre – taps into that passion. Forthcoming productions include a comic musical fantasia titled The Legend of Rooney's Ring (about Wayne Rooney, who played for Everton) and The Derby Days (a play made for supporters of both Liverpool FC and Everton).
Red or Dead is first-and-foremost for fans of Liverpool FC. From the midst of an excellent, 52-strong cast (including a community chorus of 40) Mullan is superb as Shankly, the sometimes gruff, often witty, always driven Scotsman who led the club from the second tier of English football to success in both domestic and European competition.
From his no-nonsense negotiations with club chairman Tom Smith (played with necessary composure and formality by Les Dennis) to his interactions with his friend and mentor, the great Manchester United manager Matt Busby (Gordon Kennedy on dignified form), Mullan impresses mightily. Indeed, he delighted the press night audience by recovering a slipped line, and bantering with the crowd, in character.
Breen has fashioned a play with numerous songs, and the fabulously voiced Jhanaica Van Mook leads the cast (and a considerable proportion of the audience) in singing the Liverpool FC anthem You'll Never Walk Alone. Allison McKenzie – who is tremendous in the role of Shankly's supportive and long-suffering wife Ness – is in similarly fine voice, both in song and the reciting of the poetry of Shankly's beloved Robert Burns.
The piece is peppered with moments of laugh-out-loud humour. Comic treats include the long, black wig that identifies Kevin Keegan and a scene involving the groin of the celebrated Liverpool player Ian St John, some boot polish and a camera.
Breen – who also directs the production – has addressed himself imaginatively to the thorny problem of transposing a detailed prose narrative into a play. His solution – having multiple narrative voices step out from within the huge cast – is a clever one.
However, whilst the various voices help to distract from the structural conundrum that is so often inherent in stage adaptations of novels, the play (which runs to two-and-a-half hours, including interval) struggles to find a theatrical rhythm. Still, this nicely-acted, unapologetically sentimental celebration of one of Liverpool FC's greatest ever heroes is sure to be a crowd-pleaser for its intended audience.