Cast and creative team announced for Rep’s football-themed production

Midlands-based theatre company, TECTUM Theatre will be bringing their new production, Everybody Wants To Be Ronaldo to Birmingham Rep.

 Re-imagining their OFFIE nominated show Hand Of God, Everybody Wants To Be Ronaldo is described as “a vibrant and dynamic show blending the pulsating beats of Grime and hip-hop”.

It explores themes of identity and parenting, set against the backdrop of Birmingham.

The story follows Curtis, a 16-year-old aspiring professional footballer in the Villa academy, his devoted mother Sabrina, who has supported him since he was six, and his unforgettable one-night encounter with the legendary Diego Maradona. 

The cast comprises of Birmingham-born, Jerome Scott (who recently played Edmund in The Rep’s 2023 production of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe) as Curtis; Coventry-born artist Kimisha Lewis as Sabrina; and Tobias Jowett as Diego Maradona.

Everybody Wants To Be Ronaldo has been written and produced by TECTUM Theatre founder, actor, writer and proud Brummie, Sam Butters who was recently at The Rep as an actor in ROTTEN (Emmerson & Ward productions).

Working alongside, Sam as director and co-writer is Nyasha Gudo (A Play For The Living In A Time Of Extinction, Headlong Theatre and Belgrade Theatre); assistant producer Alice Chambers (Community, Birmingham Rep); composer Reisz ‘Odd Priest’ Amos (TWINE, Legacy Centre of Excellence); movement director Laura Dredger; set and costume designer Alexandra Kay; lighting designer Charlie Powell; deputy stage manager Libby Glass; and wellness practitioner Nigel Bailey.

Everybody Wants To Be Ronaldo is supported by Arts Council England, Backstage Trust, Birmingham Rep, Emmerson & Ward, Rikki Beadle-Blair MBE and the Sir Barry Jackson Trust and will premiere in The Rep’s most intimate performance space, The Door.

The production runs at The Rep on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 March.