A new play entitled ‘Maine Road’ begins a national tour this week, beginning at The Lowry on Friday, March 12 at The Quays Theatre.

Produced by the Monkeywood Theatre, Sarah McDonald Hughes was inspired to write a story about a young boy and his family losing their own home as City moved to the new stadium.

The club has been delighted to offer support behind the scenes helping to launch this original and unique production. Watch the video.

The main character, Leo, is a City fanatic and Saturdays mean car-minding and listening to the match from the backyard. That is, until his world is bulldozed around him...

He finds his team packing up and leaving at just about the same time that his whole world is falling apart in this story about football, family, bricks and mortar

A resident of Moss Side herself, Hughes said: “I’m really interested in the idea that places can have real meaning and impact on people’s lives.

I live near the place Maine Road used to stand and it’s amazing how much of a legacy of the ground is still there

...Sarah McDonald Hughes

Maine Road was accepted for the 24:7 Theatre Festival, premiering in The Printworks in July 2009 to resounding four-star reviews.

Hughes also submitted the script to the Alfred Bradley Bursary Award 2009, the most prestigious radio drama prize in the country, and it was highly commended in a shortlist of nine, winning Sarah a year’s mentorship at the BBC.

Following some redevelopment of the script, the play was produced for BBC Radio 4 with Sarah taking the role of Jade.

The play will open at The Lowry on March 12 - when a party of club representatives will in the audience -with more performances on March 18, 19 and 20 before going on the road to Whitby Hall in Ellesmere Port on April 10, Saltburn Community Theatre on April 24 and finally Halifax Square Chapel on April 30. 

Monkeywood are delighted that the tour is supported by Arts Council England and has been awarded funding through the Grants for the Arts initiative. Sarah’s redevelopment of the script has also been supported by the Peggy Ramsay Foundation.

The production team would also like to thank Ian Cheeseman and the BBC for allowing permission to use coverage of the final Maine Road match in the play.

Tickets are priced from £5 to £10. Telephone 0843 208 6000 for further details or go to www.thelowry.com to buy tickets online.

Watch the video of City's Nedum Onuoha meeting the Maine Road playwright