Knockout Success Show at Merlin’s Bridge Boxing Club

Frankie Walker’s powerful new one-woman show, Angry Snatch: A reclamation job in 15 rounds kicks off its Welsh Tour next week, buzzing from huge success at The Fringe. The show, which is performed in a full-sized boxing ring, will visit the Merlin’s Bridge Boxing Club on 19 of October for the last leg of its Wales tour.

The work has attracted broad interest and praise for its hard-hitting storytelling and fusion of theatre and boxing forms. Combining physical theatre and dance with spoken word and boxing rhythms, Frankie invites audiences to join her in an unflinching reflection on her own and others’ lived experience of domestic abuse, and the role that boxing played in her journey towards healing and reclaiming her life.

Frankie wrote and devised the work in collaboration with Director Meg Fenwick and choreographer Cai Tomos, as a way of making sense of her experience. In doing so, she offers a vital insight into the less seen, disorienting, frustrating aspects of navigating, escaping and recovering from domestic abuse.

Talking about the work Frankie said: “I’m passionate about breaking taboos around domestic abuse and though this isn't my story, I am an artist with lived experience. Using our skills as theatre makers to tackle abuse in a way that is unflinching and hopefully beautiful, is not only an opportunity to heal, be heard and represent marginalised voices, but also open-up more conversations around coercive control.  It’s heartbreaking that so many people are living lives so deeply affected by it.’

The show brings focus on the huge impact and role that the sport of boxing is playing in empowering victims of domestic abuse in healing and recovery.  It has been made in collaboration with a number of experts and domestic abuse support services, domestic abuse survivors, as well as members of the boxing community in spreading the word about the benefits of the sport in helping people rebuild their lives and confidence.  By rooting itself in communities across the tour, Frankie hopes to reach a wider audience, raising awareness of the isolation that victims and survivors experience in seeking support for what they are going through, and signpost audiences towards allyship and support of those experiencing domestic abuse. 

The show received great response from Edinburgh critics and audiences alike, with four stars from The Scotsman and audience members offering heartfelt reactions:

‘There are things that are tricky to express, things that might need different languages to tell, I recommend you go see Frankie Walker’s performance’ and

‘What an extraordinary mastery of different artistic media, beautifully woven together, and what incredible work, both personal and artistic’

Angry Snatch: a reclamation job in 15 rounds will visit the Merlin’s Bridge Boxing Club, Haverfordwest on Saturday 19 October at 2pm and 7pm. Tickets: £10. To book your tickets or for further information, contact the Box Office on 01646 695267 or click here.