As Philadelphia gears up to welcome the world for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Inis Nua Theatre Company is bringing a different kind of football story to the stage.
'Same Team,' written by Scottish playwrights Robbie Gordon and Jack Nurse, co-artistic directors of Glasgow-based Wonder Fools, was inspired by the real-life Homeless World Cup and developed with players from Street Soccer Scotland. The production blends the energy and unpredictability of a live match with a story about resilience, human connection, and community surrounding five women on the team.
Gordon, Nurse, and Inis Nua's artistic director, Kathryn “KC” MacMillan sat down with Metro to discuss the play’s origins and the timely connections to our city.
MacMillan: It's an exciting summer to be a Philadelphian, between our semiquincentennial and the World Cup being played here. 'Same Team' is about a women's team playing in a World Cup tournament — the Homeless World Cup, an incredible, real-life program run by Street Soccer International. Jack Nurse and Robbie Gordon, our playwrights, worked with the real team to develop the play. Their play captures the excitement and camaraderie of the sport, and it felt like a perfect time.
Gordon: Yes, and in a slightly strange, lovely way. Jack and I were walking through Glasgow on a sunny afternoon and stumbled across the Homeless World Cup being played in George Square, right in the middle of the city. That’s one of the brilliant things about the Homeless World Cup and Street Soccer as organizations. They don’t hide the tournament away. They put it bang in the center of town, with maximum visibility, so people can gather around, watch, and feel part of it.
We watched for a while and both had that immediate feeling of, “This is amazing. There’s a play in this.” About six months later, the Traverse Theatre got in touch and said they’d been approached by Street Soccer Scotland about a possible project around the Homeless World Cup, and they thought we might be the right people to write it. It felt almost too coincidental. We’d literally been talking about how exciting that world could be theatrically. Once we began spending time with the women involved, it became much more than an idea about football. It became about the people, the humor, the friendships, the training room, the nerves, the stories and the spirit of the place.
Nurse: For it to be finding a new life with KC and Inis Nua in Philadelphia feels really special. Inis Nua is exactly the kind of company you hope will take on a play like this, because they understand both the humor and the heart of it. It’s a Scottish story, but it’s also a very human one. I think KC immediately saw how it could speak to audiences in Philly.
Nurse: There’s no way those themes couldn’t shape the play. All it takes is spending a bit of time with the women at Street Soccer Scotland and you understand immediately what the heart of the story is. They are some of the funniest human beings we’ve ever met, and the energy in the room was extraordinary.
Fundamentally, what we were trying to do was capture the spirit of the place. If you come along to Street Soccer, you’re made to feel welcome. Their approach is called “Players First”, which means the players guide the program. They’re not passive recipients of support, they’re in the driver’s seat. The play was shaped by listening, being in the room, and trying to reflect the humor and care that already existed there. It was never about writing something worthy or distant. It was about showing what happens when people create a space where others can feel part of something.
What’s been really beautiful since the play finished is that the Street Soccer players have continued to show up for us, too. When we toured 'The Events' by David Greig in Scotland earlier this year, a massive group of Street Soccer players came along to see it. That has become part of the life of the company now. Whatever we’re making, you can almost guarantee there’ll be Street Soccer players there in the audience. That’s what it’s all about for us. We’re interested in changing who theatre is for, and one way of doing that is by directly involving people in the making process. 'Same Team' is a really clear example of that.
MacMillan: As a woman, I identify strongly with each of the characters at different moments, especially the characters who are in some ways the most extreme. Lorraine is at midlife, as I am, and she's aware of how the world treats her differently now than when she was a young woman. The B is very unlike me, coming from a tough and violent home life, but the vulnerability that lives under The B's toughness reminds me of the young girls I grew up with in my small working-class town.
Nurse: It’s funny, because everyone seems to gravitate towards someone different, and that’s one of the things we love about the play. People see bits of themselves in each of the women. That felt really important, because homelessness affects such a broad section of society. It isn’t one type of person or one kind of story. We were keen to show how precarious life can be in the 21st century, particularly in Scotland, but also more widely. Lorraine really personifies that. She’s someone who had a life, a job, a sense of identity, and then, through a couple of incredibly difficult life circumstances, she finds herself with almost nothing. That felt important to represent, because it shows how quickly things can shift.
Gordon: For me, I have a huge soft spot for The B. When I think about her, I always think about the woman who helped inspire that character through the development process. She still makes me laugh whenever I think of her. I also think about the actor who first played The B, and what she brought to the role. There’s something amazing about people who can make you laugh one minute and break your heart the next. The B is probably one of my favourite characters we’ve ever written. She has all this front and bravado, but underneath it, there’s vulnerability, intelligence and a huge amount of feeling. She’s a joy to write because she’s never just one thing. We’re actually hoping to write more with The B in the future, because she feels like one of those characters who still has so much life in her.
MacMillan: I hope it reminds audiences that Inis Nua is a company that wants to be a vital part of Philly's conversation. While we do plays from Ireland, England, Wales, and in this case, Scotland, our work captures important moments in the life of our city and reveals the universality of people's experiences on either side of the Atlantic.
Gordon: For me, it’s about the transformative power of sports, and also recognizing sport as a form of culture. At its best, sports brings people together who might never otherwise spend time with each other. I think about playing rugby when I was younger. My dad was actually the coach, and one of the amazing things about that team was how broad a group of people it brought together. It wasn’t 20 guys I would necessarily have chosen to hang out with, but through training and playing together, we came to understand each other. We learned about each other’s lives. We had to put differences aside and work as a team. That has stayed with me. Those bonds can be lifelong, and I think that’s phenomenal. Sport absolutely has the ability to change lives, and I think culture does too.
In the context of Philly and the World Cup, I hope 'Same Team' reminds people that the power of football isn’t only in the huge global spectacle. It’s also in the local, human version of the game. It’s in people finding confidence, belonging and community. It’s in someone being missed when they don’t show up. It’s in the team that gathers in a room or on a pitch and says, “You’re part of this.” Loneliness feels like such a pervasive issue in the 21st century. We live in a world that can push people towards individualism and isolation, and I think sport and culture can offer something different. They create spaces where people can be together, listen to each other, and imagine a better way of living alongside one another.
MacMillan: That it's important to stretch.
Nurse: Put your differences aside and play together. That feels like a big one. The best teams aren’t made up of people who are all the same. They’re made up of people who learn how to listen to each other, trust each other, and move towards something together. Listening is a huge part of it. On a pitch, you have to pay attention to what’s around you. You have to hear your teammates, notice who needs support, and know when to pass the ball. That feels pretty useful in life, too. Maybe the biggest one is that no one gets left behind. That’s such a simple idea, but it’s at the heart of the play. You show up, you look out for each other, and you keep the team together. Also, as KC said, stretch before you play. That’s probably good advice for life as well.
'Same Team' runs May 27 to June 14 at The Proscenium Theatre at The Drake. For tickets and information, visit inisnuatheatre.org
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