Conteh: set, crowd and critique

Liverpool’s Royal Court has opened “Conteh,” a new stage biography of former world light-heavyweight champion John Conteh, written by and starring Aron Julius. (liverpoolsroyalcourt.com) The show began performances on April 25, 2026 and is scheduled to run through May 9 at the Roe Street theatre. Julius leads a five-person cast with Amber Blease, Helen Carter, Zach Levene and Mark Moraghan. (liverpoolsroyalcourt.com) (cultureliverpool.co.uk) Royal Court publicity frames the story in three ages: Conteh at 10 in Kirkby gyms, at 19 winning Commonwealth Games gold, and at 24 becoming world champion. It says the play follows both his sporting rise and the excesses that followed in 1970s and 1980s Liverpool. (liverpoolsroyalcourt.com) That structure has shaped the production itself. Reviewer Peter Grant said Zoe Murdoch’s set uses a large “seconds out” clock, date-line projections and a section of boxing ring where Conteh reenacts key fights through shadow-boxing. (sthelensstar.co.uk) Arts Review Hub said director Mark Womack keeps scenes moving quickly between bouts, home life and later fallout, giving the show a “cinematic quality” with minimal set changes. Its review said Julius plays Conteh as both swaggering champion and insecure public figure. (artsreviewhub.com) The production is part of a familiar Royal Court formula: local icon, local audience and a story told in Liverpool voices. Grant called the venue the city’s “Peoples’ Theatre” and linked “Conteh” to executive producer Kevin Fearon’s push to stage Liverpool lives. (sthelensstar.co.uk) Conteh’s own biography gives the play most of its dramatic weight. Liverpool Echo’s profile says he started boxing at 10, won Commonwealth gold at 19, turned professional in 1971 and collected British, Commonwealth and European light-heavyweight titles before retirement in 1980. (liverpoolecho.co.uk) Opening-night reaction has tilted warm, but not uniformly so. Grant called the production “a play with a big heart” and noted that the 74-year-old Conteh took a bow with the cast after the first performance. (sthelensstar.co.uk) Other reviews have praised the energy while questioning the depth. Arts Review Hub said the play reaches beyond a standard sports biography, but its own summary of the script still centers the familiar arc of fame, addiction, expectation and decline. (artsreviewhub.com) For now, the clearest fact is that Royal Court has turned one of Merseyside’s best-known fighters into a two-week hometown event, with Conteh present to receive the applause in person. (liverpoolsroyalcourt.com) (sthelensstar.co.uk)