Going For Gold
Review by Sam
⭐️⭐️⭐️
After winning 3 Black British Theatre Awards, Lisa Lintott’s biographical boxing drama makes its London premiere. But is it a knockout or only just getting ready to rumble?
Documenting the life of Frankie Lucas, a Windrush-era child from St Vincent, Lintott explores his rise and fall in the world of boxing. Much like the theatre itself, the play is an incredibly intimate exploration of a character which carefully chronicles Lucas’ life in detail. Real images and footage are inter-spliced throughout, helping to bring to life this impressive yet tragic story of fighting adversity to win against all odds.
An ensemble of five takes all ensure that they deliver the raw and emotional punches the play demands. Llewella Gideon dominates the first act with her scene stealing narration through her captivating performance. Jazz Lintott’s portrayal of Frankie comes into his own in the second act, with a skilfully heartfelt and emotive performance. Another stand out was Daniel Francis-Swaby, who delivers the most charmingly rounded and well-characterised performance of the piece. However, despite its fabulous cast, the material often felt that it didn’t quite get the KO it was aiming for.
Focusing heavily on narration and in-depth chronological fight reports, the play feels its length and would benefit from cuts to keep the text concise and narratively strong. I also feel that a larger cast is needed to tell this story, as the majority of fights are told through shadow boxing sequences. Each of these segments feature the name of a boxer but no one to play them, leaving me confused about characters and occasionally struggle to follow the narrative. Comparatively the most effective fight sequences were the ones in which real boxing was combined with projections of the fights themselves.
The story of Frankie Lucas is told through an insightful script and performed by an equally talented ensemble. There is real potential within this play, and with some further training this production could well get the wining punch that it’s aiming for.