It is often proof of a show’s strength that only after it ends is one free from its
power to unpick its machinations. Marco Ramizez’s Royale is one such play.
Loosely based on the life of Jack Johnson and his 1910 fight against the retired
undefeated champion James J. Jefferies, the play’s main concern is the lead up
to the “fight of the century” whose outcome stoked racial tensions, incited riots
and pandemonium in America. Fertile material then for a play if there ever is
one.
Here called Jay Johnson and played by Nicolas Pinnock. His promoter played by
Ewan Steward tells him of the near impossibility of luring “the great white hope”
Bixby out of retirement. Bixby agrees to the fight but demands 90% of the takings
which Johnson accepts astounding his promoter. His sister Nina (Frances Ashman)
then visits him while he’s in training and goes as far as suggesting he loses the
fight afraid of the violence that would be meted out on black people if he wins.
Already, her son who Johnson hasn’t seen in a long time is getting into fights in
school for simply claiming him as his uncle.
The stakes could not be higher and it is a testament to the writing and Madani
Younis’s direction that even when familiar with the true story, the raised tension
is palpable enough to feel real. One gets conflicting feelings rooting for Johnson
but fearful of the suffering and loss of black lives that will follow.
The actual fights are cleverly choreographed. Instead of the accurate goriness
common in films about boxing, Younis has opted for artful depiction. The boxers
often have their backs to each other bouncing with a fluid footwork. The impacts
of punches are reproduced by a chorus of shouts, foot stamps and claps.
There are remarkable support performances from Johnson’s coach Wynton (Clint
Dyer) who has the delicate job of maintaining Johnson’s focus but preventing
over-confidence and Gershwyn Eustache Jnr as the promising boxer who Johnsonhas difficulty beating in the opening scene (round one) and who he later employs
as a sparring partner.
Actors Nicholas Pinnock and Gershwyn Eustache Jnr
Actors Nicholas Pinnock and Gershwyn Eustache Jnr
Of his multiple roles in the play, Ewan Steward’s turn as promoter is a balanced
portrayal of a friend and sympathiser, confident in his client’s prospects of
beating any opponent but plagued by his awareness of the fight’s magnitude.
Frances Ashman’s turn as the sister Nina who is more concerned about her
brother’s safety is played with an emotional charge that would be sorely missed if
only the pride, fear and ego of the male characters were interrogated. In a less
accomplished play, this would be too reductive a role for a woman but is here
slightly elevated to the point of being crucial.
Nicholas Pinnock is every inch the champion boxer having clearly whipped himself
into an envious physique. His Johnson has a ton of grace perfectly communicating
Johnson’s self-belief which even when shaken never deteriorates into crippling
doubt. With such sharp writing, elegant direction and a very impressive cast all
making for a brilliant production, the bar has been set pretty high and every
other play I see this year has a lot to live up to.