Fight Night

Aonghus Óg McAnally. Photo by Martin Doyle.

Friday night is Fight Night. Fishamble: a New Play Company presents this Irish solo play at 59E59 Theatres as part of Origin's 1st Irish, a New York City-wide festival of Irish theatrical work. Starring Aonghus Og McAnally as the down-and-out boxer Dan Coyle Jr., Fight Night ensures its audience an evening crackling with energy, sweat and tears.

McAnally begins the performance by doing an intense cardio routine as he delivers a half-exposition, half-conversation introduction. One must hand it to McAnally, who brings the heat in vocal performance and explosive cardio movement. His character, Dan Coyle Jr., is a failed boxer from a long line of championship boxers, estranged from his father for abandoning the family craft. Emphasis is placed on Dan Coyle Sr.'s long past fighting days, particularly the golden era of "his prime," which casts an inescapable shadow over his son. McAnally works to bring dynamism to their relationship, showing the power this father wields over his son and vice versa.

The script, written by Gavin Kostick, is well-structured if sometimes overstated, where many of the protagonist's jokes go on a little too long, and emotional moments are discussed for a little longer than necessary. That does not detract from the very sincere and heartwarming scenes, such as Dan Jr.'s scene with his wife in which she tells him she has no intention of concealing from their son that his conception was not planned. Moments with her contrasted scenes with Dan Sr. that reflect Dan's humble and genuine love for his wife and son, making love and devotion integral to why Dan has to get back in the ring.

The show is unabashedly Irish, which for an American audience means it may take some effort to keep up with the dialect and humor. For this reason, it does help that the script restates itself at certain moments. For example, when McAnally has been running in place for a few minutes telling a story, it might be difficult to parse the details. It endears us with the truth of a lived experience different from our own, with real ingenuity and frankness, not watered down in any way, and never compromising on its singular identity.

Fight Night was written and developed through Show in a Bag, Fishamble: The New Play Company, Irish Theatre Institute, and Dublin Fringe Festival's initiative to support the work of Irish artists. The show has won Best Actor and Bewley's Little Gem awards at Dublin Fringe. Fight Night champions love, communication, and fighting for good, each in our little corner of the world.

Fight Night

Performed by Aonghus Óg McAnally

Written by Gavin Kostick

Directed by Bryan Burroughs

April 01 - April 20, 2025

59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th St.)

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Rita Frances Welch is… Wait, who’s asking? There are a few answers depending on the context. Rita is A) A New York playwright, actor, and director, B) The owner of 5 discrete copies of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, C) A force of nature, controlled by the tides and called to by the wind, disappearing and returning like the seasons. More material than their author, Rita’s plays have been produced by The Tank, Theatre X, Playwrights Performance, and Rogue Theatre Festival. They hold a B.F.A. in Acting from Shenandoah Conservatory, during which they studied under LAByrinth Theater’s Martha Wollner and Padraic Lillis. Rita’s writing functions as an experiment- a combination of characters in the petri dish of their world, their personal challenges and delusions in a vacuum, isolating for every variable but one: Human nature, which reveals itself every time. ritafranceswelch.com