Safer

“If I hadn’t got out of my car that day, I would not, absolutely not be here strutting my rugby fit bear body, wearing f**k-right-off amazing dangly earrings on the streets of Hull.”

For Butterfly Boy – sitting alone in a Fiat 500 in the pouring rain – the reasons for joining a gay and inclusive rugby union team in a rugby league obsessed city didn’t seem that apparent. But once in the changing room a whole new world opens up.

Inspired by a true story Safer is a hard hitting, tender and funny exploration of the toxic side of team sports and how one new team decided to tackle it head on.

Safer is based on the true stories of International Gay Rugby Union (IGR) players which were gathered in the spring of 2022.

Safer was first toured in 2022 in Hull and at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham with the following creative team:

Director: Lucy Fielding

Writer: Sarah Jane Dickenson

All characters played by: Angelo Irving & Ethan Lang

Producers: David Eldridge & Matthew Sedman

Cover Image: Angelo Irving and Ethan Lang in Safer. Photograph by Lucy Fielding.