Melanie Anglesey reviews the 20th anniversary production of Elton John's Glasses at the Watford Palace...

I am not a Watford fan but I am a fan of Watford. I’ve lived here for the past 20 years and have been to a few home games, most recently sitting on my hands in the Graham Taylor Stand watching my team Man City subject the Hornets to a bruising 6-0 defeat.

Our visit prompted the usual chant: ‘Where were you when you were s**t?’

To which I can say I was there at the old Wembley Stadium on 30 May, 1999 for the Football League Second Division final when we fired in two late goals to bring the score to 2-2 and then won on penalties. So I know how it feels to be the underdog and it’s something you never forget.

Elton John’s Glasses by David Farr (The Night Manager) premiered the same year I arrived in Watford and two decades on its themes of love, loss, obsession and devotion still resonate.

The premise is that something went terribly awry in the 1984 FA Cup Final that had less to do with Everton striker Andy Gray’s controversial header from the hands of Watford keeper Steve Sherwood and more to do with the positioning of a certain celebrity’s trademark headgear. Whatever the reason, Watford lost 2-0 on the day and for Bill (Niall Costigan) all hope was lost.   

Bill sits in his spartan living room playing the moment over and over again on his VCR. Unexpectedly his brother Dan (Leon Williams) turns up after a six year absence with his band members in tow, bassist Shaun (Thomas Richardson) and drummer Tim (Euan Kitson) who much to Bill’s discomfort bears more than a passing resemblance to the legendary singer of Rocket Man and Tiny Dancer.

Into the mix comes Amy (Leila Ayad) a football mad 16-year-old who fancies a kickabout and then Bill’s casual girlfriend Julie (Janna Croll) turns up cranking the farcical tension up to fever pitch.  

Watching the show on Saturday afternoon it took me a few lines in to feel how believable the characters were but the sentiments drove home every time. It is a show about football fanaticism, but it’s also about a downward spiral that can happen at any time when all it takes is one lucky break to pull you back from the brink of despair.

As we were leaving the theatre the Watford FC fans were just on their way to Vicarage Road full of anticipation about their imminent clash with 2015 FA Cup winners Arsenal. Watford’s 2-1 win that evening neatly sums up the performance on stage - heart-warming, hopeful and brilliant, right to the final whistle.

Elton John's Glasses runs until October 21 at Watford Palace Theatre.