Fighters
The are many ways of interpreting the word "fighter". After
some reflection I've decided to use this page for plays (and
features) related to professional fighters - wrestlers and boxers,
real and fictional.
26.03.88 Kid Lightning, by Mike Walker
26.02.99 Cribb and the Black, by Steve Walker
06.11.00 Master & boy: Gene Tunney and Bernard Shaw, feature
31.08.04 The master and the boy, by Simon MacAllum
30.03.05 Wrestling for Britain, feature
NOTES
KID LIGHTNING....1988
By Mike Walker. Play about a retired boxer of some reputation who
earns a crust by taking on all challengers at the local boxing
hall. But its days are numbered - and his prospects are bad,
unless he finds another way of earning a living. ...Clive Lever
found this for me - thanks, Clive.
CRIBB AND THE BLACK....1999
By Steve Walker. Interesting reconstruction of the bare-knuckle
fight between Tom "The Black" Molyneaux and Tom Cribb. Based on true
events.
The master and the boy .... 2000
This programme ( a feature) looked at Shaw's correspondence and
friendship with the heavyweight boxing champion Gene Tunney; it
was presented by the boxer's son, Jay. Shaw had always admired
Ellen Terry's skills as an actress, and was similarly impressed by
Tunney, who applied himself scientifically and logically to the
defeat of each opponent. Programmes about Shaw's life are often
more interesting than the rather preachy tone of his plays. ...
ND, VRPCC newsletter .
The Last Ten....2004
31 Aug 04, 1415.
By Simon MacAllum. Billy Driscoll is a boxer at a major crossroads in his life: his mother is dying, and she wants him to give up the sport. Will his future be decided in the ring, as he faces the final count? With Jimmy Harrison, Ann Scott-Jones, Paul Simon, Andy Clarke, David McGowan, Martin McCardie; producer Alison Peebles.
WRESTLING FOR BRITAIN .... 2005
30 Mar 05. Feature: - the poet George Szirtes arrived in England
as a boy, fleeing the aftermath of the Hungarian uprising of 1956.
Within a day of arriving at a barracks, he and his family met
another refugee, the wrestler Tibor Szakacs.
In the years that followed, their lives were briefly intertwined
and as Tibor resumed his wrestling career and became part of the
British wrestling scene, George grew up and came to understand
much about England through the staged fights, wild costumes,
comically strong men and theatrical violence. He tells Tibor's
story and his own, with the help of ringside recordings from a
recent all-star fight at Hanley and archive interviews with some
of the legends of the past. (BBC publicity)
Nigel Deacon / Diversity website
