Silvio vs the Scouser!

Beating Berlusconi, the hilarious true story of the Scouser who squared up to the Italian prime minister during the 2005 Champions' League Final, kicks off at Edge Hill University's Rose Theatre on Tuesday 23rd March 2010.

Liverpool FC's remarkable comeback at the Attaturk Staduim, which saw them battle back from 2-0 down at half-time to take home the Champions' League trophy, is the stuff of legend on Merseyside. But almost as unbelievable is the story of Mark Radley, a 29-year-old cobbler from Allerton, who sneaked into the AC Milan Directors' box and nearly got into a fight with Silvio Berlusconi!

After helping himself to free bubbly and smoked salmon, Mark sat beside a smirking, perma-tanned, Don Corleone type, with no idea he was watching the match next to the Italian prime minister. When Liverpool's unlikely equaliser went in his Italian host turned nasty and the two squared up before Mark was hastily hauled off by Signor Berlusconi's heavies.

In Beating Berlusconi, Mark becomes Kenny Noonan, a lifelong Liverpool fan who carries the scars of 30 years as a Red - Heysel, Hillsborough, Alex Ferguson - and of living in a city which has been demonised. Despite threats from his wife and bank manager, he travels to Istanbul in May 2005 and the bizarre story that unfolds proves that fact can sometimes be stranger than fiction.

Beating Berlusconi is more than just a laugh out loud comedy about the beautiful game and the highs and lows of being a Liverpool fan. Using the heart-stopping drama played out on the pitch on that memorable night in 2005, the play charts the fortunes of the club and the city of Liverpool itself.

This funny and moving story of love and friendship, of defeat and of victory, shows how 90 minutes can change things forever.

Written by Radio 4 playwright John Graham Davies and starring Paul Duckworth (Ringo in Backbeat), Beating Berlusconi promises a great night out for fans of football and comedy alike. You'll be sick as a parrot if you miss it!