Rope-A-Dope – Bewley’s Cafe Theatre – Review
by Frank L.

Rope-A-Dope – Written and performed by Terry O’Neill
Sept 26th – Oct 7th, 2023 – At 1pm

There is a photograph on the front of the programme (and above) which shows Terry O’Neill looking intently at the camera while he throws a punch with his right hand. In his left hand, he holds a microphone. The photograph cleverly encapsulates his career to date as an Irish champion boxer and a comedian in the world of stand-up. In this production, he brings together the two sides of his life.

The set is a corner of a boxing ring with a stool and bucket. On the back wall, there are posters of three boxers. Terry enters, in a black dressing gown and hood, on the far side of the ropes and like any boxer before a fight, he steps through the ropes into the ring. Stirring music is being played. The music stops and he discards the dressing gown. He is attired in an all black strip.  He engages with the audience by asking whether a nickname belonged to a famous boxer or a mass killer. He tries it several times with various names by which time the audience is on his side. All the time he cannot stop his winning smile from lighting up his face.

He then combines the history of professional boxing with his own career, starting as an eleven-year-old in Mount Tallant Boxing Club. There, he learned the many disciplines which a fighter needs in order to become competitive. On stage, without props with perfectly executed arm, leg and body movements, he demonstrates some of the skipping, punching and weaving techniques which a boxer needs to employ. Throughout he moves around the ring with an athletic grace. Yet all the time he keeps up a quickfire patter which proclaims the advantages boxing creates for kids from less privileged backgrounds. Humour predominates the production and he has the audience in the palm of his hand.

The show is directed by Michel James Ford and has been developed with the assistance of Alan Gilsenan and The Abbey Theatre. The production was recently at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for twenty-five nights. Terry O’Neill and the whole production team have created an hour-long captivating journey into the world of amateur boxing and the great good it does for its local communities, particularly its youth. With his movement and quick wit, Terry will leave you with a smile on your face. It deserves to be seen throughout Ireland.

CAST AND CREW:

WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY: Terry O’Neill
ORIGINAL DIRECTION: Alan Gilsenan
DIRECTOR FOR BCT : Michael James Ford
LIGHTING DESIGN: Colm Maher