Guest Blog: Kirsty Patrick Ward On THE SWEET SCIENCE OF BRUISING

It's always a gift to come back to something you've directed before, but in many ways you can never really go back - as a director you've got to keep looking forward, rise to new challenges, embrace new stages, and never lose track of what drew you to the play to begin with.

The Sweet Science of Bruising has been part of my life since 2016, thanks to the brilliant producer and actor Ashley Cook. When he first sent me Joy's script I literally couldn't put it down - the story was so epic, the world so exciting, and the struggles faced by the characters all too relevant, despite being set in Victorian London. Voices, scenes and ideas leapt off the page and, from the first opportunity, I was all in.

Meeting writer Joy Wilkinson was the project's next gift; warm, funny, fiercely intelligent, politically engaged and wonderfully collaborative, I knew from our first meeting that this was a woman I had to work with. She'd initially started writing the script over ten years ago, and over the next year together, we started the journey of refining it. Workshops with LIPA grads, note sessions in theatre cafes over cups of tea, and a series of readings all helped us distil Joy's dynamic play.

Why do these women box? What are they boxing for? What does boxing give them? And what do they stand to lose? All of these questions helped to shape and hone the play. Fighting for representation and having autonomy over their own bodies were grave challenges that our Victorian lady boxers faced. They were also the same struggles faced by women to have female boxing legitimised, respected and funded as a sport (with the battle still raging on).

Boxing writer Johnny Watterson perhaps puts it best when describing the struggles Katie Taylor faced in Ireland when the Irish Amateur Boxing Association wouldn't sanction her fights: "These were men telling women what they should and shouldn't do with their bodies". With abortion laws being re-legislated in the US this very year, it would appear that this problem has not gone away.

Boxing has always fuelled and inspired our play, and this has been elevated and galvanised by our Fight Director, the tour de force that is Kate Waters (AKA Kombat Kate). As a boxer herself, she knows first-hand what it means to go head to head in the ring, but also just how much hard graft, skill and perseverance it takes to get there.

She treated us to Sunday morning boot camps at Miguel's Boxing Gym in Brixton before rehearsals even began, and started training our cast in the rigours of the Sweet Science. Watching Kate fight unlocked so much of the play for me, and her incredible knowledge, generosity and love for the sport has proved infectious throughout the company. Skill and strategy are just as imperative as physical strength - boxing, as we learned, is actually all about not getting hit.

We're just a week away from bringing our show onto the majestic Wilton's stage (classic Week 4, lots to do). With such a huge story to tell I couldn't be blessed with a more hardworking and talented cast, creative, production or stage management team.

Ensemble is truly the word of the moment, and it's interesting to think that a play that so empowers women was actually first sent to me by a man passionate about producing it. Perhaps inspiring and galvanising feminism and activism in both women and men alike (rather than the burden falling solely onto women's shoulders) is another way in which we can all support the ongoing fight for female equality.

The Sweet Science of Bruising at Wilton's Music Hall 5-29 June

Photo credit: Mitzide Margary

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