It's certainly a story that deserves to be retold - and we're proud to devote a whole weekend to the inspirational tale.
A Fans Club, Birth of a Phoenix, is a play that tells the story of how Wimbledon FC supporters refused to let their club die, and now it has been rewritten by Matthew Couper.
On 23-25 June Wimbledon in Sporting History (WiSH), are bringing a revised version of a Fans Club to the Cherry Red Records Stadium.
“It’s really exciting to be able to tell this story again – from the pivotal time when the club reformed in 2002," said Matthew. "The original play was released back in 2004 at the studio theatre in Wimbledon and it was amazing as we had a sell-out. The following year we went up to Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival.
"A lot of time has passed, and this is a more reflective piece. I really want it to be a celebration of community and what can be achieved by coming together.
"Our supporters have got behind it, which is brilliant, so we were able to raise a couple of grand. WiSH are also helping out as well, so it’s going to be a great weekend here at the Club.
“I’ve re-written it a bit with some of the speeches and important things that were said. I’m telling it through the eyes of a couple of fans: there’s the initial announcement of the move, before the protests, and how we all fought for it not to happen, followed by what happened afterwards before the first match at Sutton. It’s crazy what we achieved in those years and how far we’ve progressed as a club since then."
The play will feature on all three days of that weekend, plus WiSH have lined up guest speakers to talk about Wimbledon's unique history, and there will be the unveiling of the 'Greatest Team' art installation.
These exciting sideshows are scheduled for the Saturday from 3pm after the launch at 2pm of the first-ever book to contain all of the Wimbledon Football History in one large tome.
Managing Director of WiSH, John Lynch, added that the play is an exciting, creative way of sharing Wimbledon’s heritage.
“WiSH is all about celebrating the sporting achievements in Wimbledon and the borough of Merton," said John. "AFC Wimbledon is a truly remarkable story and after 21 years this is a great way to celebrate what we’ve achieved - going from the bottom of the non league pyramid to league football and moving into our own purpose-built ground.”
The production team have already identified their director, Mark Stevenson, who is the co-artistic director of Teatro Vivo, plus actor and writer Michael Wagg is taking on one of the lead roles.
In addition to the actors, Matthew is hoping for some additional guest appearances. “We have a lot of famous fans, so who knows who might pop up?!”
Tickets are priced at £20 (including booking fee) with the play featuring four times over the weekend.
Book now by visiting this website.
The picture above (taken by Kirk Pritchard) shows (left to right): Michael Wagg, Mark Stevenson (director) and Matthew Couper (Writer/Producer).