With the England/Argentina match in the 2002 World Cup taking place on June 7, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival's announcement on June 6 that there would be several football plays on the Fringe this summer could not have been more timely.

Football and the World Cup are the inspiration for five Fringe shows this year: An Evening with Gary Lineker, The World Cup is Not Enough, My England, Owen O'Neill's My Son the Footballer and Theatrum Botanicum's outdoor spectacle The Boy with the Magic Feet

Maintaining the connection between stage and football arena, the National Theatre opened its Loft space this summer with a topical analysis of the relationship between football, friendship and national identity in Roy Williams' powerful play, Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads.

Meanwhile the Bush, celebrating its thirtieth year, is staging A Carpet, A Pony and a Monkey, which follows the activities of a group of ticket touts during the Euro 2000 competition.

—By Paul Webb Theatrenow.