A YOUNG footballer-turned-playwright left devasted by a serious knee injury says she’s been given the all-important go-ahead to take part in the play she wrote.

Keane Harrison, 23, from Vicars Cross in Chester, will be staging Vicars Crossing at the area’s community centre on Saturday, November 30.

She was seriously injured playing football for Nantwich Town and was left waiting for surgery on the NHS before making the decision to fundraise for private surgery to speed up her recovery and return to the game.

But in the meantime Keane has utilised her arts background which took her to university in Oklahoma, in America, to write a play abut her community, but she feared she would have to take to the stage with two crutches.

“My surgeon and physio are focused on the performance dates and had a plan to get me out of the leg brace and down to one crutch for the performance,” said Keane whose character is based on crossing patrol officer Pat Markert so will be holding the iconic giant lollipop throughout.

The cast of Vicars Crossing (l-r): Hannah Curtis, Cat Heath, Zach Waddington, Izzy Lewis, and Keane Harrison.The cast of Vicars Crossing (l-r): Hannah Curtis, Cat Heath, Zach Waddington, Izzy Lewis, and Keane Harrison. (Image: Keane Harrison.)

She added: “I’m from Vicars Cross – I went to the community centre to see them as they were looking for young people to do things in the arts.

“It was suggested to me to do a play and I thought yes, I will do that.

“I came back from America in 2023 and started playing for Nantwich Town FC and in the final game of the season, which was a final, I got injured.

“I picked up an ACL injury – in fact, I got the whole lot with my knee as I did my meniscus too.

OTHER NEWS:

“I had an operation six weeks ago and I’ve just had the thumbs up from the doctor to go down to one crutch for the play.

“I hopefully can stay on one crutch after the play as well – it’s six weeks after my operation when I was supposed to go down to one.

“I’m a week ahead of schedule for my recovery.”

Keane graduated in Theatre Arts in the USA, where she attended on a football/soccer scholarship.

“It’s been a struggle to get into the UK industry without connections,” she said.

Her talent has been recognised by Chester arts enthusiast Claire Smith who has championed Keane’s work, making Vicars Crossing possible.

The play was written using interviews with members of the Vicars Cross community and weaves their actual words into a touching and humorous snapshot – a love letter to the community.

Just over an hour in length, tickets cost £7.50 (or £5 concession) for Saturday, November 30 and Sunday, December 1 and are available at Ticket Source, by searching Vicars Crossing, or from the community centre on 07861 041795.