The Battle
Manchester Opera House
Tuesday 17 March 2026
The Battle takes us back to the long hot summer of 1995 when Britpop royalty Oasis and Blur were battling it out for the top spot in the singles charts.
As the nation sweltered in the summer heat of 1995, bitter Britpop rivals Oasis and Blur were raising the temperature in the pop charts by releasing singles on the same day. That battle had caught the imagination of the whole nation, so as a news reporter on the local news programme Granada Tonight, I was dispatched to track down Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher to get his views on this titanic tussle for the top spot in the single chart. Eventually, I found him in a beer garden in Didsbury having a kick around with his mates. Once I sat him down for a chat, you could feel the anger coming off in his waves, and you did get a sense he really was mad fer it. His foul mouthed interview was a nightmare to edit for an evening news slot, but despite that, you could also feel the immense pressure both bands were clearly under to deliver a win as the nation waited with bated breath for the Sunday night chart rundown.
Given that rich history, it’s something of a surprise it’s taken so long for former nineties A&R man turned novelist John Niven to pen this funny and often insightful play that has more than a hint of his scabrous tomes. The good news is the cast aren’t expected to play any Oasis and Blur songs, so director Matthew Dunster uses Tal Rosner’s lurid graphics to introduce the music and keep the timeline straight for the audience.
We meet the bands after the 1995 Brits, where the rivalry began as Liam wanged bread rolls and insults at Blur after they won four awards, leaving Oasis with only one win. Over the coming weeks, that rivalry intensified between educated southerners, Blur releasing Country House, and rough-edged Northern oiks Oasis responding with Roll With It as they jostled for the unofficial title of Britpop kings.
What’s really interesting about this rivalry is it’s much more about class than art school rockers Blur see it as a bit of a jape, whereas for Burnage’s finest it’s a classic working-class shit or bust route to escape poverty and make a few bob. The cast move Fly Davis’ occasionally clunky set around as we’re transported through the studio where Oasis are recording the game-changing (What’s the Story) Morning Glory to the chaotic set of the supposedly ironic Country House video full of page 3 girls. Along the way, we see how Blur manager Andy Ross masterminds the battle, and Creation boss Alan McGee’s misery when he realises that 30000 Oasis singles have the wrong barcode, so that they won’t count.
This raucous show is not for the faint-hearted with copious use of the C word, and given it’s the nineties, Niven doesn’t sugarcoat how drugs didn’t help calm things down, and the prevailing lad culture that results in some very dodgy views. The stakes are totally different for both bands, and Niven draws a lot on that regional and cultural divide, which means the words and performances occasionally stray into broad-brushstroke stereotypes. That said, there are lots of funny lines like Liam’s confusion about what risotto eaten by posh folk is until it’s described to him as ‘Bovril with rice.’
Astonishingly, George Usher is making his professional debut as Liam, perfectly capturing his distinctive swagger. He really gets behind the aggressive bravado that masks the scared boy intimidated by things he doesn’t understand, which seems to be virtually everything, except for what it takes to be a rock ‘n’ roll star. Paddy Stafford offers a nuanced performance as the equally driven – but much smarter – Noel, who rightly observes at one point this is a ‘battle of the B sides.’ On the Blur side, Niven doesn’t spare Damon Albarn, who, behind his middle-class veneer, is determined to win, and Oscar Lloyd works hard to make him a rounded character. Will Taylor is the star of this show with a wittily vulnerable performance as reluctant pop star Graham Coxan, exposing the high cost for the sensitive guitarist.
Matthew Horne is the only grown-up onstage, impressing as smart operator Andy Ross. Working against the onstage testosterone, former Eastender Louisa Lytton is believable as Meg Matthews, and Harriet Cains is nicely sardonic as Justine Frischmann, who observes that whilst Damon writes about people, Noel writes for them. Not surprisingly, given this was home turf for one of the protagonists, the audience reaction to the onstage antics was warm and lively. Interestingly, it was a mix of grizzled nineties veterans who were there back in the day, plus loads of younger fans keen to see what all the fuss was about.
The bonkers Kill Bill inspired fantasy ending where the bands face off seems to have come from a different play, but despite that misstep, Niven offers a fun account of how two great bands convinced Britain that their battle mattered.
The Battle by John Niven
Cast: Brandon Bendell, Harriet Cains, Iona Champain, Billy Dunmore, Tommy Garside, George Greenland, Oscar Lloyd, Louisa Lytton, James Oates, Paddy Stafford, Will Taylor, George Usher, Mathew Horne.
Director: Matthew Dunster
Set and Costume Designer: Fly Davis
Lighting Designer: Jessica Hung Han Yun
Sound Designer: Ian Dickinson
Video Designer: Tal Rosner
Casting Director: Claire Bleasdale
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
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The Battle is at Manchester Opera House until Saturday, 21 March.
Words by Paul Clarke
Photo credit and Copyright: Helen Murray – www.helenmurrayphotos.com
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