Review: Shoestring’s The Sweet Science of Bruising at Stamford Arts Centre

Women’s boxing in Victorian Britain is a funny old theme for a play.

It’s more of a specialist subject on Mastermind. Or a Stephen Fry podcast which spills the secrets of a bygone age.

So to put a plot about four female pugilists in front of an audience for five nights seems a strange thing to do in a small town like Stamford.

But here’s the oddest thing. It works.

The Sweet Science of Bruising was written by Joy Wilkinson, better known as a scriptwriter for medical soaps Holby City, Casualty and Doctors.

The play has an easy-to-follow plot, the first half comprising scenes that focus on each of the four women’s lives, with silent film intertitles a handy projected backdrop to indicate ‘who’ and ‘where’.

Once we’re familiar with the four, the storylines become more fleshy.

Violet (Stephanie Thompson Collins) refuses to be the doctor’s assistant, aspiring instead to the same career heights as her male lover and boss. Matilda (Hannah Drury Lewis) isn’t just a prostitute. She works for The Times.

Polly (Hayley Kendall) is an orphan who has a complicated relationship with her adoptive brother and by knocking him flat becomes the first ‘lady boxing champion of the world’, albeit accidentally.

Meanwhile, Anna (Joanna Warner) hides the worst secret. Her wealthy husband beats her and is emotionally controlling. And he’s sleeping with Matilda.

There are several dramatic and sometimes violent showdowns as the characters’ lives interweave in the second half of the production, and not all involve boxing.

Common to Stamford Shoestring Theatre’s recent productions, the acting is strong among a tight cast.

But as you’d expect in a play like this, it’s the women who steal the show this time around.

Thompson Collins and Drury Lewis are ‘pleasingly posh’ and ‘entertainingly tough’ respectively, and they bring charisma to their characters. These two have stood out in previous productions, including The Visitors and The Beauty Queen of Leenane.

Special mention as well to Shoestring newcomer Hannah Walker, who plays two characters and delivers lots of lines and some impressive hysteria on stage. Hannah is better known to the LincsOnline team as a trainee journalist and her appearance on stage was a delightful surprise.

The Sweet Science of Bruising is a valuable story told well by Shoestring, with good costumes and enjoyable production touches. Turn up to your seat five minutes early to enjoy a bit of music hall singing by Ali Cooper. You won’t regret it.

The Sweet Science of Bruising is at Stamford Arts Centre nightly until Saturday, September 7. Performances start at 7.45pm and tickets are £12 (concessions £10) from stamfordartscentre.com.

Stamford Arts Centre lift is being replaced and so access to the theatre is by stairs only.