Cornermen ★★★★★

The Edinburgh Fringe has certainly changed over the years. It has become a slicker, more professional affair, with many venues having their eye on bar takings as much as the shows they put on. The expense of taking a production to Edinburgh has also tipped the balance towards production companies with deeper pockets. Those who can afford professional PR companies and well-designed marketing campaigns often catch the media’s eye over grassroots companies. But not always…

Authentically False is a brand-new, Scottish-based company, consisting of four recently graduated actors, making its Fringe debut with Cornermen. Their revival of Oli Forsyth’s 2015 work sees three boxing coaches whose fortunes are decidedly at a low ebb. Their fighters keep losing and following their most recent match, the head coach Mickey is not trusted in the professional ranks. But they may be down but not out. Their plan is to abandon the “punch-drunk pensioners” and instead sign a young, inexperienced boxer whom they can train up. With the intention to discover “something new, something we can grow”, they head to an amateur night with a short wish list: a fighter “needs a chin” to take the punches and a journeyman who can “put on a show and sell a few tickets.”

They discover 21-year-old Sid, a fighter in whom they see potential, not least for his speed – fulfilling the brief that fast fighters don’t get hit much, and so their careers run longer. When he defeats a 250-pound fighter in his first professional fight, the boxing coach’s future looks promising.

Cornermen traces Sid Sparks moving up the professional rankings, and with that, it catapults his coaches into a world of success they never dreamed of and are not prepared for. The script draws you into the thrill of boxing, elevating both the skill and the uncertain outcome of each fight. While it is thick with the vernacular of the professional game to be convincing, the lingo never becomes so esoteric that it alienates the audience.

While it is a convincing portrayal of the temptations, pitfalls and moral dilemmas that occur when a fighter’s ability to bring in the big bucks clashes with their potential well-being, what makes Cornermen unmissable are the outstanding performances by the cast of four. As head coach Mickey, Daniel Doherty sells the ambition of his character, building the arc from chancer to callous exploiter with nuance and conviction. Arran Hogg lends his trainer Joey an unaffected simplicity and enthusiasm and yet can deliver humour and poetic lines with equal skill.

Liam Scobie as the baby-faced Sid has impressive stage presence. Whether the role requires youthful cockiness or world-weary cynicism, Scobie gives a magnetic performance. You have to admire the athleticism he brings to the role, as well as the sterling work by fight choreographer, Luke Davidson.

Completing the quartet, Ruairi Francis McCormack gives weight to the role of Drew, the moral compass of the group and the trainer who ultimately doesn’t want Sid to fight for the British welterweight title.

These four young performers bring impressive energy and commitment to the piece. Whilst they successfully parlay the nuts and bolts of the sport, it’s the superb connection between these characters that lands the unexpectedly emotional sucker punch. If Authentically False’s Cornermen proves anything, it’s that you don’t need big sets or a multitude of props. You just need a compelling story and four performers brimming with talent. That’s the true spirit of the Fringe.