Modern Plays Why I Stuck a Flare Up My Arse for England

It's the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship Final at Wembley in London, and England supporter Billy goes viral after falling in with a new group of mates, who inspire him to take his support to the extreme. Football. It’s what defined my happiness. It’s what filled my soul with joy and occasionally… despair.It’s the EURO 2020 Final at Wembley and Billy’s gone viral for sticking a flare up his arse! Billy and his best pal Adam are die-hard football fans. It’s how they spend every weekend, without fail. It’s their escape, their religion and their life. But when they encounter a new group of mates, they start to take their support one step further.Why I Stuck a Flare Up My Arse for England is a blisteringly funny play which debuted to both audience and critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2023. In 2024 it won the prestigious Holden Street TheatreEdinburgh Fringe Award and ran at Australia’s Adelaide Fringe Festival in 2025.Written and originally performed by Alex Hill, the play asks what it means for young men to find belonging and the lengths to which it might drive them.This edition was published to coincide with the run at Underbelly’s Cowbarn, Edinburgh Fringe Festival in July 2025.