Sucker Punch Playtext

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by Roy Williams

Right, you know the rules, watch the low blows, if it's a knock-down no messing about, go straight to your corner, and don't come out till called for, are we clear? Touch gloves, let's go.

In the red corner: Leon Davidson - Black British champ or Uncle Tom? In the blue corner: Troy Augustus - American powerhouse or naive cash cow? Having spent their youth in the same London boxing gym, vying for the favouritism of inspirational, foul-mouthed trainer Charlie Maggs, the two former friends step into the ring and face up to who they are. Boxing has dominated their lives with an unhoped-for structure and meaning, but it becomes clear that it is no substitute for their health, family, and friends.

Roy Williams' Sucker Punch looks back on what it was like to be young and black in the 1980s and asks if the right battles have been fought, let alone won.

With an introduction by Harry Derbyshire, Lecturer in English and Drama at the University of Greenwich.