Red Pitch

‘Fierce, affectionate and effortlessly funny’

* Guardian *

‘90 minutes of end-to-end stuff… the plot is pacy and exciting. The language is rich and vivid. It’s also very funny… It’s still rare to see a play about young, black, working-class youths on our stages: rarer still to see one in which they are celebrated like this’

* Evening Standard *

‘Intelligent, nuanced – an unbelievable debut… phenomenal… true mastery of craft. It’s a next-level coming-of-age story’

* The Stage *

‘Sharp, funny and deeply poignant… feels wholly authentic… an eloquent love letter to our increasingly threatened public spaces… Tyrell Williams is a rising talent of the first rank. Theatre needs voices like his’

* Whatsonstage (2022) *

‘A triumphant take on flux and football in a fast-changing south London neighbourhood’

* Independent *

‘An absolute cracker… Williams takes the simplest of situations and uses it to paint a brilliant but bleak picture of the trials of growing up in south London… Huge themes bubble through its smart, overlapping dialogue… what is so wonderful about Red Pitch is that the teenagers are written so richly that they don’t represent a type or an aspiration. The plot is tight, but never schematic. Their reality makes their plight all the more moving… a play that is set to become a classic’

* WhatsOnStage (2023) *

‘A feel-good, emotionally impactful and richly contemporary triumph’

* Telegraph *

‘Beautifully crafted… it manages to feel hugely meaningful while relatively little happens… it’s hard not to imagine that for Williams, the theatrical Premier League beckons after this debut that’s both zeitgeisty and timelessly humane’

* Time Out *

‘Exceptional… masterful… a remarkably nuanced play that, through a loveable everyday story, wholly captures what it is to be a 16-year-old, football-mad teen… a must-see’

* Culture Whisper *

‘Energetic and joyful… everything about this play rings true’

* Arts Desk *

‘Electrifying… fuelled by adrenaline… the characters feel authentic and real… great entertainment built on the strong foundations of specific issue-led theatre… a beautiful, thought-provoking tapestry of topical themes’

* Broadway World *

‘Pitch perfect… exciting work from a refreshing new voice in theatre… just what the West End needs’

* London Theatre *

‘Wonderful… a stunning piece of theatre’

* Theatre Weekly *

Tyrell Williams is a writer and director for stage and screen. He co-created, co-wrote and directed the viral web series #HoodDocumentary, which had over three million views on YouTube. Following its online acclaim, #HoodDocumentary was commissioned as a web series for BBC Three, which Tyrell directed and co-wrote.

His plays include Red Pitch (Ovalhouse Theatre, London, 2019; Bush Theatre, London, 2022; West End, 2024). Red Pitch was the winner of the 2022 George Devine Award.

He was named Best Writer at the 2022 Stage Debut Awards, and Most Promising Playwright at the 2022 Evening Standard Theatre Awards.