Brian Mitchell was one of South Africa′s best boxers, but due to sanctions during Apartheid, the former double world champion was never allowed to fight in his own country. Now Mitchell has taken his life story to the theatre, where he shares his highs and lows as a professional boxer.
He is the only South African inducted in the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and has taken his “rags-to-riches” story to the theatre in a one man show called The Road Warrior.
“I think I have been through worse than any other fighter in the whole world – I mean not Mike Tyson, not Muhammed Ali, not anybody was not allowed to fight in their own country because of Apartheid and because of politics, and I was not allowed to fight in this country because of sanctions and now I can tell my story,” Brian Mitchell told CGTN’s Julie Scheier.
The account of Mitchell’s life was crafted by storyteller and director Tim Plewman, who explained the difficulty in creating a one man show on stage.
“Doing a one-man show is the most difficult thing you can do on stage, and to watch somebody with his determination, the self-discipline and the self-belief and the courage to become a two-time world champion you get the discipline installed in you to do a theatre play, and also of course having to learn 13,000 words – and as he says, if you have been punched in the head 10,000 times – that ain’t that easy.”
Through a multimedia presentation with footage from Mitchell’s greatest moments, Road Warrior recounts his career, hardships and triumphs during the Apartheid years, and how he was banned from fighting in South Africa.
Find out more on Mitchell’s incredible journey below:
