Real-life fight club tells boxers' stories in their own words Michael Mohammed Ahmad stars as Billy "The Kid" Dib in I'm Your Man. I'm Your Man creator and director Roslyn Oades. I'M Your Man doesn't so much make statement or judgment about fighters as it does provide a first-hand insight into the psychology of boxing culture. Creator-director Roslyn Oades followed the progress of a young Sydney boxer on what turned out to be an 18-month quest for a world title fight, recording his training sessions and interviewing those around him. This play is edited together entirely in their words, which the actors listen to through headphones and repeat exactly, mimicking every inflection, stammer and verbal tick. Gradually, it emerges that many of these characters are recognisable identities. Justin Rosniak is channelling the growling, gravel-voiced Gus Mercurio one minute, then switches into the frantic, fidgety Jeff Fenech with the next breath. John Shrimpton is the mirthful, mumbling Tony Mundine Senior - who provides a neat double-act with his snickering New Zealand cruiserweight protege Dave Aloua - while Billy McPherson plods along amiably as the more contemplative "Wait-a-While" Wally Carr. As rising star Billy "The Kid" Dib, Michael Mohammed Ahmad exhibits all the charisma and bravado of an aspiring prize fighter, while also revealing just how fragile that self-proclaimed confidence is. Belief in one's own ability is paramount, and has to be frequently and loudly proclaimed to all and sundry, even if it may ring a little hollow and self-delusional to outsiders. Shrimpton doubles as Wale "Lucky Boy" Omotoso, a Nigerian boxer who moved to Australia, and whose story is actually more compelling than Dib's. Omotoso comes from a country and history of violence and feeds on it, but has also been marked by tragedy and struggles with his own emotional response, which Shrimpton portrays with compelling empathy. Interspersed with all this is the story of CJ, a former London bruiser with disturbingly aggressive violent tendencies. In a testament to the success of the headphone-verbatim technique, CJ is portrayed by slightly-built female actor Katia Molino, who brings a terrifying nervous physicality and wild-eyed expression to his absurd and unintentionally comical Cockney utterances. When not speaking - and often even while acting - the cast is constantly and fiercely working out on the fully equipped gymnasium set, and their physiques show the results. I'm Your Man shows how this real-life fight club provides self-esteem, a sense of accomplishment - however brutal and basic - and a path to opportunities otherwise denied many of these men by their social and, sometimes, intellectual disadvantages. I'm Your Man Waterside Worker's Hall, Port Adelaide August 7 to 11