Jodie Campbell runs through this sixty-minute show like a Duracell bunny. She is a non-stop physical powerhouse who astounds with her physicality and still has breath to deliver moving, pointed dialogue dealing with weighty emotional subjects: bereavement, goals in conflict, love, betrayal. She moves convincingly like a boxer (movement direction by Mateus Daniel) and also like a kid from Leytonstone out on the lash. It’s a powerful and impressive display.

The physical aspect of her performance is only half of the excellence on display however. She also tells a convincing and beautifully articulated story about growing up with her father after a searing divorce, learning to box under his training, coming to terms with bereavement, coming to terms with the distraction from her full-on training regime because of inconveniently falling in love. The climactic boxing bout is slightly less convincing than the training routines we have been witnessing. Fighting an invisible opponent convincingly is a big ask, and maybe requires a more symbolic choreography; we have already seen her dance moves, there is ample grace and balance there to make the fight less dependent on naturalistic battling against someone who isn’t actually there. But that is nit-picking. The emotional tenor of the piece climbs convincingly to a simple, convincing pay-off.

The design is simple – a boxing ring with a stool and a heavy bag. The costuming is limited to what Jodie Campbell can fit into a sports bag. She adds items of costume – shorts, hand tape, eventually her golden gloves, incrementally dressing in complete boxing kit. The dressing process culminates in the moment when she wraps herself in her entrance costume, and becomes a vision in blue and gold silk after forty-five minutes in sweat pants and crop-tops. It’s a telling part of the story, this transformation. The combination of design elements all go to support the developing emotional heft of the play. There is a subtle but telling sound design by Mwen that adds to the build-up of tension, with crowd noise and club bangers and the odd discordant stab of sound. Above all there is Jessie Addinall’s stunning lighting design, amplifying the emotional character development, defining contexts, bathing the action in beautifully modulated colour washes.

This is a short show that punches well above its weight, bringing together striking design, wonderful movement, clear, unfussy direction, in the service of a very well-told story (Charlie Josephine’s writing) and a stunning solo performance from Jodie Campbell.

Runs until 14 March 2026.

Four Stars.

Reviewed by Chris Lilly.

https://www.arcolatheatre.com/event/bitch-boxer/

Jodie Campbell

Jessie Addinall lights

Mwen sound design

Mateus Daniel movement.