'Shadow Boxing' by James Gaddas gives you a ringside seat for a superhuman solo performance that blurs the line between sport and theatre through 55 minutes of relentless physical and emotional brutality.
Producer and Director Teresa Izzard of Feet First Collective, whose unique approach to theatre involves "giving voice to the body as our most powerful communicative tool", says the play has been one of the most demanding but rewarding works she’s ever had the privilege of bringing to life.
"I don't do stuff that doesn't scare me," she explains. "This show is probably the hardest thing I've ever taken on."
As for Samuel Addison, the actor holding up this epic one-man show, Teresa is certain he'd agree. The show demands an extraordinary commitment from both director and performer – Sam must not only deliver a powerful dramatic performance but maintain the physical stamina and technical precision of a trained boxer through every second of the show.
The intensity of the performance and subject matter isn't accidental. The show fits into Teresa’s other mission as a director, which is “to only do things that are speaking to the now". Though ‘Shadow Boxing’ was written in 1989, it is eerily relevant today, exploring the complex intersection of male violence and LGBTQIA+ identity.
Teresa and her team are "bringing the male violence aspect of the piece more into the light, in tandem with the LGBTQIA+ themes”. Explaining this creative choice, Teresa says, “We've got to be accountable to these questions: Why this play? Why now? Why this audience? Why here? I only do things that I think have the potential to impact conversations, the potential to catalyse change and create shifts in people's thinking."
These shifts in thinking are long overdue, especially in sport. It’s shocking but true that many male pro athletes still can't be their authentic selves without taking on considerable risk. Hockey player Zach Sullivan made waves in 2020 as the first professional male athlete to come out as bi while still on the roster. Not decades past – just five years ago.
We've inched forward since the '80s, but ‘Shadow Boxing’ exposes gaps that still exist, where young men continue to vanish, crushed by expectations they never signed up for.
Despite, or perhaps because of the show's challenging themes, audience responses have been overwhelmingly positive. In fact, Teresa reveals that the words used to describe the play for its upcoming run at Theatre Works were all drawn from audience reactions.
"We do an exercise at Feet First where we ask people to write down three words that describe the show. We've gathered these from in-person feedback and online comments," Teresa explains. "That's partly influenced how I've written the promotional copy – it honours the audience experience. Descriptors like 'breathtaking' and 'rollercoaster' – all this physical, energetic language actually came directly from audience comments."
The upcoming Melbourne and Sydney seasons represent a significant evolution from the show's Fringe Festival origins. "We now have a full production process where we don't have that fringe intensity of ‘get in and get out in two hours’. We can put our set in and leave it in."
With more time and space to breathe, Teresa has brought in an incredible lighting designer, Christian Lovelady, whose input “is gonna be invaluable in really taking the production to the next level." They're also "redesigning the set," adding "a whole heap of little gems there that we think are really gonna pop this show."
Melbourne audiences will experience 'Shadow Boxing' in a particularly fitting venue – a back alley area of the Theatre Works space that was once used to manufacture fireworks. With its laneway entrance and industrial vibe, the Explosives Factory captures the gritty, underground energy of a word-of-mouth boxing gym – creating the perfect atmosphere for this intense yet intimate piece.
The unique space also allows the show to start long before you see the stage, when you’re still finding the laneway entrance, climbing the stairs, settling in: “Every element has been carefully crafted to have a really positive, powerful impact."
This dedication to perfecting endless layers of detail has characterised every aspect of the production. "You can't have a play that has power and impact and all of that rigorous detail if you haven't done the work," Teresa insists. "Every moment must be detailed and must have meaning. No moment should be wasted because it's precious time on the stage."
The result is a show that respects both the material and its audience. "Whoever we have there, we want to make sure we're not wasting their time; that they come, they have an experience, and they leave feeling that we shared something important, something that matters."
The beauty of ‘Shadow Boxing’ is that you don't need to be a sports fan to be moved by it. The hyper-specificity of the story is precisely what makes it universal, inviting you to connect with its raw emotion regardless of whether you know the difference between a jab and a hook. As Teresa puts it, ‘Shadow Boxing’ has all the drama of theatre and all the adrenaline of a boxing match. “You get two things for one. . . Because ultimately, what we want to give people is really, really good theatre."
She hesitates for a beat, then says, "I wanted to use an expletive but I can't. . ." When told to go for it, Teresa laughs and does just that: "We want to give you a really f...ing good show."
'Shadow Boxing' plays Explosives Factory (Theatre Works, Melbourne) from 14-24 May, and Flight Path Theatre (Sydney) 8-11 October.
This story originally appeared on our sister site, scenestr.
