WITH the end of football season in sight, Farnworth Little Theatre (FLT) is shining a spotlight on the beautiful game.

For the end of its very own season, the theatre group will be taking audience into 'the round' for a production of Harold Brighouse's The Game.

The 1913-set comedy is about a struggling Lancashire football team, Blackton Rovers, which is on the brink of bankruptcy and its manager's desperate attempt to stop the downfall into second division.

As is tradition for the March and May productions of FLT, the play, which is directed by Dave Eyre, will performed in the round, with one quarter of the audience relocated to view the play from the stage.

Taking to the stage for the production which starts next Saturday will be John Howarth as struggling team manager Austin Whitworth.

He said: "The play has not been performed very much but it is quite up-to-date. Even though it was written in 1913 it references things like having foreign players - in this case anyone not from Lancashire - and Chelsea getting good crowds.

"The club is almost at breaking point of bankruptcy, which is quite topical for a production being held in Bolton!

"It's not just football to, it also looks at relationships between different people such as the manager's daughter, his centre forward and his mother.

"Rehearsals have been going very well, as have ticket sales too, the matinee is sold out but we still have tickets for the evening shows to sell."

The story follows the fall out of Austin Whitworth's plan to sell his star centre forward Jack Metherell, played by Sam Cooper, to the opposition team, Birchester.

He then tries to persuade Jack to play badly so don't lose Blackton and fall to the second division.

Meanwhile Jack's relationship with Austin's daughter Elsie, played by Lisa Wolstencroft, is opposed by his mother Mrs Metherell, played by Joyce Smith, thank's to Austin sending her son to a team 200 miles away.

The play also includes Robin Thompson as Edmund Whitworth, Nick Haworth as Leo Whitworth, Bob Hopkinson as Hugh Martin, Phil Ward as Dr Wells, Matthew Sheader as Barnes, Louise Davenport as Florence Whitworth, Janet Leather as Mrs Wilmott and Margaret Marks as Mrs Norbury.

The Game was originally performed only on a handful of occasions after it was first put on at the Playhouse in Liverpool in 1914 but was panned by critics when it came to London in 1920.

It fell into obscurity until a copy of the script was tracked down to a Canadian university library by said Barrie Rutter, artistic director of the Northern Broadsides theatre company.

Mr Rutter then revived the production in 2010.

The Game runs from Saturday May 14 to 21, at 7.30pm, with a matinee on Saturday, May 21 at 2pm.

Tickets are available online at www.farnworthlittletheatre.co.uk or via the box office on 0845 6430808.