"When that Bell Rings, Your Life is Entirely in Your Hands."
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London 1869.
Four very different Victorian women are drawn into the dark underground world of female boxing by the eccentric Professor Sharp. Controlled by men and constrained by corsets, each finds an unexpected freedom in the boxing ring. A place where their lives, decisions, futures are in their own hands for the first time.
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They may each get in the ring in pursuit of the title of Lady Boxing Champion of the World but what each stands to gain from every bout far exceeds any title. The women punch for recognition, they jab for education, they spar for a future, they fight for survival.
Joy Wilkinson's play The Sweet Science of Bruising is an epic tale of passion, politics and pugilism. This production marks the show’s Australian premiere.