Sheffield Theatres to Host Engagement Activities for THE LADIES FOOTBALL CLUB

This spring, Sheffield Theatres will open their doors for Extra Time; a programme of free to attend activities and events in celebration of their world premiere production of The Ladies Football Club. By Stefano Massini (The Lehman Trilogy) and adapted by Tim Firth (Calendar Girls), the production is directed by Sheffield Theatres Artistic Director Elizabeth Newman and plays at the Crucible from Saturday 28 February - Saturday 28 March 2026.

Throughout February and March, Extra Time at Sheffield Theatres offers further opportunities for communities to join together, come to the theatres and find out more about the incredible women who inspired the play and those who have followed in their footsteps. Ranging from a casual kick about to artistic sessions to listening forums, Extra Time offers a free to attend holistic range of activities, open for anyone and everyone to explore and connect with something extra to the performances happening on stage.

Extra Time will include:

- Football in the Square (Saturday 21 March), following on from the success of our Dancing in the Square and Singing in the Square. A morning of activities to allow everyone chance to get involved and have a kick about.

- A public exhibition, displayed across the Crucible foyer, detailing the rich history of women's football in Sheffield.

- A listening post project, hosting the voices from some of Sheffield's communities and partner groups to share special personal memories and impactful moments the beautiful game has had on them.

- Alongside Sheffield Theatres usual schools project Unlocking, Our Home Teams is a creative collaboration with a number of community partners to devise football chants and scarves, celebrating team spirit and community found in football in the run up to The Ladies Football Club.

- An In Conversation with Elizabeth Newman, Sheffield Theatres Artistic Director and Director of The Ladies Football Club, and Scott Graham, Artistic Director of Frantic Assembly and Movement Director of The Ladies Football Club. Designed to inspire theatre makers, teachers and creative performers to blend physical performance with the art of storytelling, particularly when combining sport and theatre.

- A life drawing session, celebrating The Ladies Football Club. Participants of all skill levels are welcome to join the session with a model clothed in costume. Learn more with drawing advice shared within the group and stories of the costumes' history.

- A series of free talks, hosted by Sheffield Home of Football to delve deeper into archives of women's football and some of the fascinating stories of passion and dedication that have driven the game through a century of challenges to where it is now. Along with the free talks, Sheffield Home of Football will also be running city centre tours, delving even deeper into the history of the Women's Game in Sheffield, with tickets available to purchase at sheffieldhomeoffootball.org.

The Ladies Football Club runs in the Crucible from Saturday 28 February - Saturday 28 March 2026. With World War I forcing men onto the front line to fight, the women of Sheffield take their place in the factories, constructing the bombs and the bullets. When they start kicking a football around on their lunch breaks, it soon becomes clear that it's not just positions on a factory floor these women can fill; it's on the football pitch too. Finding unexpected strength through their new passion and teamwork they end up playing to crowds of over fifty thousand, all the time unaware something is looming that will blow the whistle on their beautiful game.