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Combining acting with football ownership 'hard but fun'

Getty Images Jonathan SayerGetty Images
Sayer said it took a lot of hard work to make his shows "look like a mess"

If you ask most people to name an actor who co-owns a football club, they are likely to say Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney or Will Ferrell.

But in a market town east of Manchester, the answer could well be Jonathan Sayer.

Before Hollywood caught the soccer bug, the co-founder of the company that created the hugely successful Goes Wrong series of stage and TV shows stepped in to help the then-financially-struggling Ashton United.

As he embarks on Mind Mangler, a new production that mixes magic and merriment, he took a moment to consider what drove him to becoming a football club co-owner.

Getty Images Barrow's Ritchie Bennett tussles with Ashton's Matty ReganGetty Images
Sayer splits his time between performing, writing and football duties

"My grandad used to play for the club,” he said.

“He was the captain. He's played more games for Ashton United than anyone else.”

He said that family link, which has continued as he shares co-ownership with his father, was what drove his participation, but he cherishes the wider responsibilities his role brings.

"We're really at the heart of Ashton," he said.

“We're a big part of the community."

That has meant helping the club to be at the heart of a variety of community initiatives, such as a food pantry, meal delivery services and youth football schemes.

He said combining that with his acting and writing commitments has been “an experience for sure”, but it had also been “a lot of fun”.

Not quite the sort of fun he has become famous for being part of though.

Getty Images Henry Shields, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Lewis Getty Images
Sayer (above with Henry Shields and Henry Lewis) has had huge success with The Play That Goes Wrong

It is more than 15 years since he co-founded Mischief Theatre, a company which has been responsible for the award-winning The Play That Goes Wrong, BBC series The Goes Wrong Show and a host of other theatre hits.

His latest role sees him play stooge to a bumbling magician whose attempts at mind-reading and illusion consistently go awry, often with Sayer’s trademark hilarious results.

He said Mind Mangler was “something you can take your whole family to”, as it has plenty of the “typical mischief stuff [and] a lot of laughs per minute”, but also “some really, really good magic".

However, he said the chaotic nature of the show was purely an audience perception and the reality was that creating such seemingly spontaneous mayhem actually required exacting precision.

"You've got to be really on top of all the moments in the show to be able to deconstruct it and make it look like a mess," he said.

"You've got to have a lot of precision to build that kind of chaos.”

Getty Images Henry Lewis and Jonathan Sayer performingGetty Images
Mind Mangler sees Sayer working with his long-time collaborator Henry Lewis

He added that bringing the show to Manchester’s Palace Theatre was also a full-circle moment, as he was once an usher at the venue.

"It's particularly nice for me, because I remember as an 18 or 19-year-old kid watching people on that stage, just thinking like, 'oh, my God, that's the definition of nailing it and making it',” he said.

With a string of successful shows under his belt and a football club in his back pocket, there is little doubt that his dreams back then have come true.

Mind Mangler: Member of The Tragic Circle is at the Palace Theatre in Manchester until Saturday.

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