Utterly engaging acting in female boxing drama

Chloe Jackson is a fighter. But though she’s a champion in the ring, there are some battles that are harder to fight.

Charlotte Josephine brings a frenetic energy and a boxer’s poise to her own monologue, which is being staged as part of Warwick Arts Centre’s (L)one series. The play has already had successful runs in Edinburgh and London, and Charlotte is tipped as a young writer and actor to watch.

The story is simple. Chloe is a gawky teenager from Leytonstone. Her mum walked out on her and her Dad when she was young. He taught her one vital lesson: you’ve got to fight for the things you love.

In her case, that means training to be a boxer - and at the time of the play, going for a place in the Olympics, the first such event to feature women fighters. But just before her final qualifying bout her dad dies, and she has a major bust-up with her boyfriend. All Chloe’s anxieties come to the surface as she prepares to enter the ring for the fight of her life.

The monologue is experiencing something of a revival, and the arts centre’s (L)one series is doing a lot to promote it. The form demands that the performance be full of action, self-deprecation and humour. Bitch Boxer has these qualities in spades.

It is a heartening tale of a young woman’s coming of age, mercifully without pandering to male stereotypes. Chloe is loud, vulgar and vulnerable, and utterly engaging.

Feminist theatre is in good hands.

Nick Le Mesurier