Press Release Mojisola Adebayo and Debo Adebayo in association with idle women, Heart of Glass and Super Slow Way present Mojisola Adebayo and the Ali Collective Muhammad Ali and Me Boxing clubs in St Helens, 25 October; Blackburn, 27 October; Accrington, 29 October; and Burnley, 30 October 2016

Muhammad Ali and Me is the coming-of-age story of a young, black, gay girl growing up in foster care, and her fantastical friendship with the legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, ‘The Greatest’. After sell-out performances in 2008 at Ovalhouse theatre in London, a revised version of the play returns for a national tour of boxing gyms in North West and southern England after a ten show run in London. Written and performed by acclaimed writer and actor Mojisola Adebayo with the Ali Collective, Muhammad Ali and Me is staged in memory and celebration of Ali who died in April 2016. Powerful, immersive and humorous, Muhammad Ali and Me combines spoken word, dance, boxing, African A Capella singing, original footage of Ali’s fights, animation, pyrotechnics, magic and 1970s black pop music. In a semi-autobiographical exploration of gender, identity, race and religion, Adebayo plays both the protagonist, Mojitola, as well as Ali at different stages of his life. Directed by the choreographer and theatre director Sheron Wray, the play also stars renowned actor Charlie Folorunsho, and Jacqui Beckford who integrates BSL (British Sign Language) interpretation into her performance at every show. In the North West, Muhammad Ali and Me tours three boxing gyms and a youth centre, a special tour within-the-tour produced in association with idle women, the Lancashire-based organisation who create contemporary art with women. The tour goes to St Helens, Blackburn, Accrington and Burnley playing in boxing gyms, two of which are located in vast abandoned industrial mills. idle women recently hosted a residency for Adebayo onboard the Selina Cooper, their floating arts centre on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal during which she attended Kokoro, the Accrington boxing gym, learning Ali’s ‘moves’ from the UK’s only professional

female boxing trainer. Adebayo will again be meeting many of the women she worked with over the summer in Lancashire. Mojisola Adebayo is an international performer, playwright, director, producer and teacher concerned with power, identity, personal and social change. Her wide and diverse work has ranged from being an actor with the Royal Shakespeare Company to co-founding VIDYA, a slum dweller’s theatre company in Ahmedabad, India. In 2005 playwriting became her primary focus, including her landmark production, Moj of the Antarctic: An African Odyssey, which was researched in Antarctica in 2005 and performed at Lyric Hammersmith, Oval House Theatre, Queer up North and had a British Council African tour. This was followed by Muhammad Ali and Me (Oval House) and I Stand Corrected, commissioned by Artscape, South Africa (Oval House). For interviews, images and further information please contact Janette Scott Arts PR on janettescottartspr@gmail.com or 07966 486156. Notes To Editors Muhammad Ali and Me on tour (running time, approx. 60 minutes) The boxing gym tour in the North West is hosted by idle women in partnership with Heart of Glass and Super Slow Way.

25 October; Derbyshire Hill Youth Centre (YAZ), Derbyshire Hill Road, St Helens. 1900. Age 11 years + Tickets www.eventbrite.com By donation.

27 October; Blackburn Cobras, Abc Boxing Club And Fitness Centre, Forrest St, Blackburn BB1 3BB. 13.00 Matinee for women only (access via stairs - no lift) Performance for women and girls with Urdu scene synopsis. 19.00 All welcome (access via stairs - no lift). Tickets from www.eventbrite.com or on the door by donation.

29 October; Kokoro Kickboxing Gym, Northern Dragon Martial Arts Centre, The Ironworks, Dale Street, Accrington, BB5 0A. 19.00 All welcome (access via stairs - no lift). Tickets from www.eventbrite.com or on the door by donation.

30 October; xercise4less, Kingsway, Burnley, BB11 1BJ. 14.00 Matinee. All welcome (fully accessible venue). Tickets from www.eventbrite.com or on the door by donation. Presented as part of the Burnley Literature Festival.

Mojisola Adebayo is a South-London born, Nigerian / Danish performer, playwright, producer, director, workshop facilitator and teacher. Mojisola is a part-time Lecturer in Contemporary Theatre Practices and Dramaturgy in the Department of Theatre and Performance at Goldsmiths, University of London. She is an active practitioner / researcher and is completing her practice-as-research PhD at Queen Mary University, which explores ways of challenging homophobia in Africa and the Diaspora and creating space for black / queer ‘togetherness’, through theatre productions and participatory projects. She is a prolific professional international theatre artist / academic. Over the past 20 years, she has worked on theatre projects across the world including Antarctica, Botswana, Brazil, Belgium, Burma, Canada, Finland, Greenland, India, Ireland, Lebanon, Malawi, Mauritius, Norway, Pakistan, Palestine, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Syria, the USA and Zimbabwe. She has acted in over 40 theatre, television and radio productions, scripted, devised and directed over 30 plays and has lead countless workshops and training courses. www.mojisolaadebayo.co.uk idle women initiates, creates and produces contemporary art with women. Founded by

its two caretakers Cis O'Boyle, collaborative performance maker and lighting designer and Rachel Anderson, formerly producer at Artangel. Other idle women projects include a commission by Louise Lowe (Anu Productions) for Heart of Glass in St Helen’s and Ruth Ewan’s community pantomime in Strood, Kent. www.idlewomen.org idle women (on the water) is an adventurous, collaborative, socially engaged vehicle which supports and initiates the generation of new work with an expansive network of women. Heart of Glass is a new arts commissioning project supporting work made with, for and about St. Helens people and place. They support artists and communities to make ambitious new work. www.heartofglass.org.uk Super Slow Way is a new arts commissioning programme established to create a lasting legacy of arts and culture in Pennine Lancashire. Working with communities along the canal from Blackburn to Pendle, The Leeds & Liverpool Canal powered the Industrial Revolution in Pennine Lancashire. 200 years on from the canal’s birth, Super Slow Way aims to stage a new, creative revolution powered by art and people. www.superslowway.org.uk