PLAYWRIGHTS Les Smith and Martin Thomasson hope that theatre-goers will help to create a special atmosphere for their new production. Ian Savage reports.

FRIENDS and former University of Bolton lecturers Les Smith and Martin Thomasson have been avid Bolton Wanderers fans for as long as they can remember.

When I caught up with them to chat about the new production – And Did Those Feet – they were clearly delighted it was being shown to an audience in Bolton once again, 11 years after it was first premiered at the Octagon.

They told me that the play was initially Les’s project.

Les, who was brought up in Halliwell, said: “In our family you had no choice to be a Wanderers fan. I remember the first game I saw and it was at home against Preston. We lost 4-0.”

Martin was four when he watched his first Wanderers game at Burnden Park in Manchester Road.

“My father took me,” he said. “I saw an entirely different side to my dad that I had never seen when we went to the football.

“He was generally a quiet man, but at the match he behaved in a completely different way – like a different human being. I never heard him shout until we were at a game.”

Les said that the Octagon had been looking for a play to help celebrate its 40th anniversary.

He said: “I pitched a play which featured the 1923 FA Cup Final.

“That final has gained legendary status – most people have heard of the ‘White Horse Final’, it has gained its own mythos.

“I didn’t know how I was going to do it, so I asked Martin for ideas and if he would like us to write it together.

“We spent days talking about it and decided we should follow the stories of a group of supporters from one street – focusing on the fans rather than the football.

“We got postcards and put every scene of the play on 70 cards and then we knew we had a story.”

Martin said: “We knew we could work together and working as a team meant we had to develop new ways of work. It was very interesting.”

The friends are proud of Bolton, its football club and the heritage of both.

Les said: “Bolton is our town and Bolton Wanderers is our football club and we wanted to do it.

“The play is speaking for the people of Bolton. My feeling having spoken to people who have seen it over the years is that the audience buy it as authentic. They share the history and they care about it.

“David (Thacker, the director and former artistic director of the Octagon) is very collaborative and wants the writers to be involved. It’s a pleasure to see.”

He added: “Staging the play at the stadium is a wonderful idea.

“We are sure it will help to attract football fans who would never normally go to the theatre and regular theatre-goers who have never set foot inside a football ground.”

Les and Martin also urged audience members to get into the spirit of the play and come wearing their Wanderers shirts and scarves.

Les said: “It will create a unique atmosphere. They will be watching a play about Bolton Wanderers and their fans at the stadium and if they can dress the part too, all the better.”

n And Did Those Feet runs from October 21 to November 1.

n The White Horse FA Cup final: See Looking Back starting on Page 17.