European Cup at Birmingham Rep to mark 40 years since Villa's historic win
A lifelong Aston Villa fan got to hold the European Cup 40 years after the club made the historic win, as his play about Villa's famous triumph has its world debut at the Birmingham Rep.
Paul Hunter, the artistic director and star of Told By An Idiot's Would You Bet Against Us?, was joined by European Cup winners Dennis Mortimer and Tony Morley after the show last week for a special photo with the genuine cup.
The photo was taken exactly 40 years since Villa won the cup, on May 26 1982 - one of only five English teams to ever win the European Cup.
Four decades later, Paul's show about the Villa's win is playing at the Birmingham Rep, with Paul himself starring as the lead character.
Speaking about the show, Paul said: "It celebrates the Villa's greatest victory 40 years ago, against all the odds, when everyone considered us complete underdogs - going on to win the European Cup.
"And at the same time it tells my story of my dream of trying to get into the world of show business from a council house in Birmingham, with a dinner lady mom and an unemployed dad, and my journey in trying to get to drama school.
"So the two underdog stories converge. It is about football on one level, of course, but what makes it very relatable is it's fundamentally what it means to be an underdog, and I think at some point in our lives we can all connect to that idea.
"That notion is deep in the British psyche - whether it's Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent or Eddie the Eagle - we always do it, and I think other countries find it strange.
"I had some people at the show with no interest in football whatsoever but they loved it. What you see in the show is a passion that comes across because I'm a fan of football, so people aren't just rooting for Villa, they're rooting for me and my dad as well."
"Birmingham born and bred" Paul has been a fan of Aston Villa for nearly 50 years and is thrilled that a play about football is encouraging new audiences to the theatre.
Paul added: "One of the delights of making and researching the show has been connecting to people who don't go to the theatre.
"I think sometimes the problem with theatre is you play to the same people all the time.
"It's great that they're supportive of theatre, but the lovely thing about this show is people are coming to see it because it's about Villa, and when I stand on that stage it feels like a real mix of people in that audience. We're all very excited by that.
"Too often theatre can become something which is very set and it loses its sense of spontaneity. Our show is absolutely rooted in spontaneity because that's why people love football - you simply don't know what's going to happen."
Would You Bet Against Us? runs at the Birmingham Rep until Saturday.
