Take The Space

It’s April 1967: in a shabby East End boxing gym, elderly trainer, Jimmy listens to the news: the world’s heavyweight champion, Muhammad Ali refuses to fight in Vietnam.

Conchie or contender? It’s a story Jimmy knows all too well. Back during WW1, he used to be a contender but with Conscription, Conscientious Objectors went to prison or the firing squad. The Quaker – Boxer made his choice but he still can’t face those demons from the past and now there’s Jo, an angry demon from the present! Women Boxing? Is that even legal?

This new play from Take the Space is about the most courageous of movements and the bravest of sports: Jimmy is an ex Champion Boxer and a conscientious objector who stood up for peace through two world wars and even at seventy, still sees the “Good” in people, striving to teach dignity, discipline and self respect to any young person who visits his gym.