Play on Ali to sting like a bee: 2.5 hour-long play on boxer's life

KOCHI: Late Muhammad Ali's life was so well-rounded, with the beats of reggae and rap music forming the backdrop of hair-raising events that dot his life, that a group of artists in the city have found it compelling to tell his story. A group of 18 artists and five musicians are giving last-minute touches to a 2.5 hour-long 'Manglish' play based on the life of the legendary boxer at Kerala History Museum.
"The play is titled 'Beyond the ring', in a deliberate attempt to draw attention to the life of Ali beyond the identity of being a legendary boxer to his epic denouncement of all the hard-earned honours as part of the fight against oppression of the downtrodden. His story becomes more relevant in this time and age, when the emotionality of people is limited to their dear and near ones, unlike the emotionality that people like Ali had with issues facing society. People's emotional connections with issues are now drained out of their hearts and minds by posting a couple of write-ups on social media," said Joy P P, director of the play.
The drama will be played out in a linear storytelling style on a stage developed on an arena-design, which can be viewed by the audience in the same feel as that of watching a boxing match in a ring.
"The play is the stringing together of the songs of struggle and rebellion from Ali's contemporaries like Che Guevara, Ambedkar and Mandela. Live reggae and rap music by a band will also be a highlight of the play," Joy said.
Ali's story stood out from the rest of it, according to the director, due to the perfect circle his life turned out to be. "From a downtrodden Cassius Clay to celebrated Muhammad Ali, an insuperable boxer to a person who struggled to hold his spoon properly due to Parkinson's, from a fighter to a nearly Sufi-kind of believer, his life story came a full circle. It is so well-rounded and this makes it exceptional when compared to life of other legends," Joy said.
Sheril, who plays Ali in the play, trained as a boxer for six months to perform the role.
"The character is a very challenging one, especially imitating the boxing style of a person who fights like a dancer or speaks like poet. He has very swift and smooth, relaxed movements, which is tough to emulate, even for an experienced boxer," said Sheril, who is new to boxing.
"Apart from the boxing, the enactment of Ali outside the ring also poses a dare as his movements, actions and words were all political," Sheril added. The play will be performed at Kerala History Museum from April 27-29 at 7 pm.