I’m Your Man

Mohammed_Image_Michael Corridore

You enter a boxing gym: place of dreams, of glory, of a better life. The walls are covered in inspirational quotes, bodies are in constant motion and minds are elsewhere. The stakes are high. Everyone wants to be special; we all have something to prove.

For 18 months theatre-maker Roslyn Oades and her trusty tape recorder followed a determined young boxer from Bankstown through his preparations for a world-title fight.

I’m Your Man is the story of who Oades’ met along the way: past legends, up-and-comers and failed contenders whose lives have been irreversibly changed by the fight game.

A sweaty, energy-fuelled study of a contemporary masculine drama, I’m Your Man situates the audience in the moment and at the centre of the action.

The actors wear earpieces and recite an audio script with absolute precision (like a musician following a score), recreating the exact speech patterns of original interviewees taken directly from the ringsides, gyms and dressing rooms of Oades’ recordings.

This work is a hyper-natural form of documentary theatre that evokes the essence of the audio source with pure fidelity – even if the performer is of a conflicting gender, age or racial background to the original speaker, the audience’s focus shifts from relying on visual perception to a heightened state of listening.

I’m Your Man will challenge preconceived notions of the tough, testosterone-fuelled world of boxing, while creating new ways of experiencing real-life stories in a theatrical form. This is no ordinary slice-of-life. Behind this thrilling, brutal sport lies a compelling tale of courage and its cost.

Creator/Director: Roslyn Oades  Performers: Michael Mohammed Ahmad, Billy McPherson, Katia Molino, Justin Rosniak, John Shrimpton  Sound Designer: Bob Scott  Lighting and Set Designer: Neil Simpson  Movement Director: Lee Wilson – Branch Nebula  Script Dramaturge: Raimondo Cortese

I’m Your Man
Arts House, North Melbourne Town Hall, 521 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne
Season: 4 – 8 September 2013
Bookings: (03) 9322 3713 or online at: www.artshouse.com.au

For more information, visit: www.artshouse.com.au for details.

Image: by Michael Corridore