Theater review: The fight

Molly Stubbs

I first became aware of “The Fight”, Theatr na nÓg's latest production, not during one of my forays into the “What's On” sections of various cultural guides, but through my husband. He's not particularly artistically inclined, thankfully, so I was immediately curious as to how he'd beaten me to this opportunity.

Although he is not a big fan of theater, he is a passionate fan of martial arts. When he saw an article on the BBC describing a new play about Merthyr-born boxer William Cuthbert Taylor, who was barred from fighting for a British title because he was “not white enough”, he rightly assumed that it was the perfect intersection of our interests.

A month later I set off with a crowd of school children to the Dylan Thomas Theater in Swansea to see the retelling of Cuthbert's story.

The Fight was written by Geinor Styles and directed by Kev McCurdy. He accompanies Cuthbert (Simeon Desvignes) throughout his entire boxing career. He begins as a humble ringside support man for his father Charlie (Zach J Levene), an amateur boxer who completes fifteen rounds to earn thirty pence at the fair. After noticing Cuthbert's natural abilities, Charlie eagerly begins training his son, and although his mother Margaret (Tonya Smith) is initially concerned, the family rallies around the little boy as he grows stronger.

Cheerful

What he was unable to achieve due to the color bar introduced by the British Boxing Board of Control in 1911 shaped Cuthbert Taylor's career far more than what he achieved anyway. But somewhat refreshingly, The Fight doesn't quite follow that line. In fact, it blatantly refuses to be a tragedy, instead depicting the various high points of Cuthbert's career with such a cheerful tone that the low points become sentences of a complete and fulfilling life story.

A lot of this can be attributed to the cast of “The Fight.” Desvignes plays the youthful Cuthbert with such lively energy that even in anticipation of the systematic obstacles that will eventually stand in the way of his childhood dream, compassion abounds. Likewise, I don't think Levene stood still for a second, as his lively Liverpudlian vocals are the perfect complement to his character's drive.

Right hooks

Tonya Smith plays not only Cuthbert's loving mother, but also his “rival”, Mrs. Price, a racist busybody who acts as a surrogate for many of Cuthbert's contemporaries. At one point, Mrs. Price is described by Charlie Taylor as an “ignorant shit,” which elicited delightfully astonished gasps from the elementary school students sitting in front of me. The stark contrast between Mrs. Price and Cuthbert's mother, often occurring in consecutive scenes, is a testament to Smith's versatility. And she's not the only player taking on multiple roles. Of the ten or so characters in “The Fight,” Berwyn Pearce portrays the vast majority. With enough stage presence to turn one-liners into memorable right-wing hooks, he certainly supports the supporting cast.

Character changes are enhanced by beautiful period costumes and props selected by Carl Davies and Millie Else. These give a charming realism, but also fit effortlessly into the production. Commentary on Cuthbert's command of the ring crackles from a war radio backstage, while onstage we see him deliver the exact same winning blows. A quick turn of the valve on a gas lamp reveals a warm spotlight as Cuthbert's mother darns a sheet.

This is just a selection from The Fight's lighting designer Elanor Higgins' treasure trove. When the same sheet is hung on a clothesline, we see Cuthbert practicing his moves through the whimsical shadow graphics. Speaking of which, the fight choreography throughout the piece is pleasingly convincing, even in the confines of the Dylan Thomas Theater.

However, realism only comes to life through the archive footage that is projected onto the background at key moments in the film. Combined with Ceri James' audiovisual design, these elements create a powerful fusion of nonfiction and emotion, creating an educational experience that neither could achieve alone.

The fight also contains at least one complete scene, which is entirely in Welsh. As someone whose knowledge of Welsh barely goes beyond a GCSE level, I could just about understand the gist of what was being said, but I don't think I would have wanted subtitles anyway. At this point in the play, a translation of the 1920s conversations of the residents of Merthyr Tydfil would have broken the previously masterfully crafted immersion.

Shameful past

The BBC article that initially drew my attention to The Fight is headlined “Boxing’s shameful past retold in the game.” I find this a very interesting choice of wording.

It is easy to blame Britain's actual shameful past, our shameful past, on a few bad or even rogue actors and call it a day. But the course of Cuthbert Taylor's life was not only determined by the British Boxing Board of Control. The color bar was both factually and legally a symptom of a racist system. He was one of hundreds of thousands of Britons denied opportunities because of their race and class.

Even if we believe that such injustices are a thing of the past, the reality is that these problems still exist today. Reuters found that “race-related hate crimes recorded by police in England and Wales rose by 43% in the five years to 2023.” Wales also has the highest income inequality in the UK based on ethnicity, with the likelihood of Minorities living in poverty is 3.5 times higher than whites.

The Fight was developed in conjunction with Show Racism the Red Card and will be presented to 5,000 Welsh schoolchildren this autumn term. Against this background, it becomes clear that the significance of the piece goes far beyond the theater. Through its mix of artistry and advocacy, it proves that acknowledging and learning from the past is neither an unpleasant nor passive experience. It is also a reminder that there has been and will be evil in the world, but if we follow it and fight like Cuthbert Taylor, there will always be much more resilience, hope and goodness.

Although created to support the Welsh primary school curriculum, The Fight will be shown to the public at the Brycheiniog Theater on 19, 20 and 21 November 2024.

Further information and the possibility to book tickets can be found on the Theater Brycheiniog website.