Replay of Legendary Pars Match

Communuity Teams have teamed up the National Theatre for Scotland to recreated the Pars 6-2 victory over Valencia

Dunfermline Athletic's 1962 6-2 victory over Valencia is to be re-enacted by community teams.

Members of 1962 original squad will be attending the re-enactment that will  take place on Saturday 18 September at East End Park, at half time during Dunfermline's home game against Cowdenbeath

The eight goals scored during this eventful match on an extremely cold December night, will be re-enacted by 36 young people (aged 12 and under) from DAFC's three community teams. The event will last eight minutes during the half time break. Past players who will be attending the event include Willie Callaghan, Jim MacLean, and Harry Melrose.

The event is part of 99?100 - a major community and education project that explores and tells the stories of Fife. Led by a team of artists from the National Theatre of Scotland and created with thousands of people from Fife, 99?100 is co-produced with Arts and Theatres Trust Fife (ATTFife), sponsored by Scottish Power and presented as part of Celebrating Fife 2010, with funding support from Fife Council, the Russell Trust and the Scottish Government.

The re-staging of the 1962 football victory will involve the 36 young team members playing all the roles involved with the original match including the full Dunfermline team, the full Valencia team, plus referees and linesmen. The young players currently play in DAFC's community teams - Scott Muirhead's 1999's and Calum Woods' 1999's - with the team name referencing the year the players were born.

The replay of the eight goals will be based upon original footage of the 1962 game. DAFC Community Coaches will coach the young players to re-stage the goals from the original match, playing the original moves as close as possible to the 1962 game. The eight minute performance will also incorporate additional movement pieces choreographed by Simon Pittman - Movement Specialist on the National Theatre of Scotland's 99?100 project.

New commentary for the match is written by Fife writer, Gregory Burke, whose previous collaboration with the National Theatre of Scotland resulted in the critically acclaimed and multi award-winning production - Black Watch.

The 99?100 event at East End Park on Saturday is the final in a series of live arts events that have been taking place across Fife as part of the project from June 2010. To date, over 1,500 people have participated in the 99?100 events which have taken place at Kingsgate Shopping Centre in Dunfermline (June 2010), the Big Tent Festival in Falkland (July 2010), and Haarfest in Anstruther (August 2010). The fourth instalment of events is took place at the Kingdom Shopping Centre in Glenrothes from 2 - 4 September 2010.

99?100's nine-month programme of creative work will culminate in a major theatre production in Fife in November 2010. The production will feature an exciting combination of music, movement, drama, photography, art and design as well as local stories gathered from the Fife community during the project.

Simon Sharkey, Director of 99?100 and Associate Director, National Theatre of Scotland, said:
"The stories we're collecting are celebrating Fife so we couldn't ignore this game - it's legendary! The 6-2 triumph seemed to me to capture a sense of collective elation in a single, historic moment. Exploring these moments from the past helps us recognise the moments we should be celebrating right now."

Jim Leishman, Director of Football, DAFC, said:
"We are delighted to be working with the National Theatre of Scotland in this way - to have the kids re-enacting these goals in our 125th anniversary year is fantastic and it lets the children celebrate one of our most famous victories from our glory years again."

Heather McDonald, Group Sponsorships Manager, ScottishPower, said:
"ScottishPower is delighted to support 99...100. We are pleased to be able to assist such an innovative project which draws on experiences of young people. At Scottish Power we have a long tradition of supporting the arts in Scotland and believe that culture and art should be accessible for all. Linking in drama and movement from the project with football is an excellent way to engage youngsters in areas of culture they may not have previously been involved with."

Hazel Wotherspoon, Head of Programming and Creative Development at Arts and Theatres Trust Fife, said:
"We're very excited to be the National Theatre of Scotland's partner in creating this event. Our relationship with the National Theatre of Scotland throughout this year has already directly involved over 1,500 people from across Fife in a series of amazing one-off events in Dunfermline, Glenrothes, The Haar Festival in Anstruther and at The Big Tent in Falkland, with upwards of 100,000 spectators so far. Working on the 99?100 project gives local communities a fantastic opportunity to take part in high-quality creative projects, and will culminate in a unique piece of theatre later in the year.

"Getting people involved in the arts at every level is central to what we do, and with 99...100 we are pulling together the great resources we have in our staff, venues and equipment to help the National Theatre of Scotland and the people of Fife bring this project to life throughout 2010."

Steve Grimmond, Executive Director, Housing & Communities, Fife Council said:
"Celebrating Fife 2010 is all about cultural participation and encouraging people to get involved in creative arts in their own communities. Fife's own Arts and Theatres Trust is delighted to be working with the National Theatre of Scotland to undertake the most extensive residency in the company's history. 99?100 reaches across communities of interest, experience and geography to inspire, explore and tell Fife's stories. It will showcase the creative work made by, and for, the people of Fife."