FOOTBALL came home when a play about the FA Cup adventures of mill workers from Darwen took centre stage at the town's Library Theatre.

‘The Giant Killers’ is based on Darwen FC's 1879 cup exploits when they reached the quarter-finals against the then mighty Old Etonians.

The production is the brainchild of husband and wife Andrew and Eve Pearson-Wright from the Long Lane Theatre Company.

Club officials invited the cast to visit the Anchor Ground on Friday ahead of the big performance at the Darwen Little Theatre later tin the day.

Mrs Pearson-Wright said: “I was getting a bit emotional and overwhelmed about performing at the library theatre. Diehard football fans know about Blackburn Rovers winning the FA Cup six times but it was Darwen FC who were the trailblazers.

She added: “The goal is to take the play to the West End and get it made into a film.

"There has been a positive reaction to it and we want to get it in front of a wider audience.”

Mr Pearson-Wright said: “The best thing about this is producing a play we care so much about.

“FC Darwen had a great fanbase. The crowd at The Old Etonians was filled with flat caps instead of the usual top hats when the mill workers went down to watch them.”

There was a standing ovation for the performance at the sold-out library theatre.

Michael Vizzard, comercial manager at AFC Darwen which is a successor to the original Darwen FC, said: “It is a fantastic story of a long forgotten history. It is really important to the social fabric of Darwen. They were the first team to have professional players playing for them. We also played Arsenal in the FA Cup in 1932 and even though we lost 11-1 we still continued to play with dignity.”

He added: “It was great to see the production here. I have been in contact with Andrew and Eve for the past 18 months. We worked hard to get them here and we hope people watching it will want to get down to the ground to support their local team.”

To find other tour dates visit www.longlanetc.com.