The Sweet Science of Bruising

In an exciting co-production, Theatre Travels and One Good Act presents a new mounting of Joy Wilkinson’s The Sweet Science of Bruising this June and July in Marrickville’s Flightpath Theatre.

Wilkinson’s play about four disparate women whose worlds intersect in the boxing ring is as thrilling as it is thought-provoking. Set in London smack in the middle of the Victorian era, The Sweet Science of Bruising examines the circumstances that bring four women from varied backgrounds to strip down to their undergarments, put on boxing gloves, and step into the ring to face their demons, societal attitudes, and each other.

Violet Hunter aspires to be a doctor but is forced by social conventions to stick to nursing. Polly Stokes hails from the North and has all the pugilistic talent of her prizefighter brother but, alas, not the same opportunities. Irish woman, Matty Blackwell, is a sex worker who’d rather get physical in the ring. Anna Lamb is a well-to-do new mother with a violent husband who is looking for somewhere to channel her own aggression.

Each of the women crosses the path of the eccentric trainer/promoter, Professor Charles Sharp, who coaxes them into the seedy, underground realm of competitive female boxing. There are more than jabs and right-hooks being thrown around the ring, however. Wilkinson takes on issues such as domestic violence, abortion, queerness, feminism, fidelity, and quite a deal more.

Directed by Carly Fisher, this production of The Sweet Science of Bruising features an impressive cast, with Kian Pittman, Esther Williams, Kitty Simpson, and Sonya Kerr in the lead roles and Cormac Costello playing Professor Sharp.

Make sure you’re ringside for this riveting show.

June 15 – July 2, 7pm; tickets $42/$48 + bf; Flightpath Theatre, 142 Addison Rd, Marrickville

www.flightpaththeatre.org/whats-on/sweet-science-of-bruising