FRINGE – Bitch Boxer – Holden Street Theatres – 4.5K

When we first meet Chloe Jackson (Holly Augustine), she’s managed to lock herself out of the house. This is particularly bad considering she was already running late and can’t risk her Dad finding out that she’s been slacking off all weekend with her new boyfriend, Jamie.  Bitch Boxer is all go from the very first, as Chloe hurdles fences and comes up with MacGyver-like manoeuvres to get back into her house, and director Bryony Shanahan manages to keep the energy and pace throughout.

As she tries to deal with both the emotional and practical impact of a major life-changing event, Chloe works harder and harder to maintain the momentum needed to achieve her ultimate goal: a place on the 2012 Olympic team.

Within the confines of the chalked out square of a boxing ring, Augustine bounces about, revealing the thoughts and feelings of Chloe, while also occasionally slipping into the personas of supporting character such as Jamie, each of her parents and her coach. Each of these characters is entertaining and well defined. Props appear from Chloe’s sports bag, allowing small physical connections to settings otherwise only brought to mind by the deft writing of Charlotte Josephine, and colourful delivery of Augustine.

The only detraction from the show was that the music sometimes drowned out the dialogue. While this may have been appropriate for some scenes, such as those set in a club, a better balance needs to be achieved so as to create the atmosphere but still allow the audience to hear everything that is being said. Every word of Josephine’s script and Augustine’s energetic performance deserves to be heard.

Kryztoff Rating: 4.5K

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