Chariots of Fire, Crucible Theater Sheffield Review — Theater & Tonic

Robert Hastie’His final production in his tenure as Artistic Director of Sheffield Theaters does not disappoint. 100 years after the 1924 Olympics, Olivier won Mike Bartlettadapted the 1981 film to bring this to a new audience.

Chariots of fire tells the story of Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell, played by Adam Bregman and Michael Wallace respectively, and their journey to represent Great Britain at the 1924 Olympics and the struggles both men face on their way to Olympic glory. We first meet Abrahams when he joins Cambridge University in 1923 and faces prejudice and anti-Semitism, and despite this he wins a place on the Olympic team to run the 100 meters, which was dominated by the US. His friends from Cambridge, Aubrey Montague (played by Dear Englandhis Tom Glenister), and Lord Andrew Lindsay (played by Benjamin Westerby) also joins him in the Olympic team. The friendship between the three men is wonderful to watch and you get revenge on all three when they get to Paris.

Eric Liddell also faces his own struggles on his journey to the Olympics, he is a highly successful athlete and a devout Christian. His strong faith brings challenges that change the face of the 1924 Olympics, as his refusal to run the 100m on Sunday means he ends up running the 400m and never faces his biggest competitor, Abrahams.

The ideas of overt anti-Semitism and standing up for one’s religious beliefs made the play feel incredibly relevant and modern, despite the story being set a century ago.