Aim

Help bring Eight Faces to the Fringe: an MMA-fueled play about fighting, fame, family, and the cost of chasing a dream.

About the Project

The Eight Faces of Ellie Morrison is a new stage play that blends Mixed Martial Arts, live music, and theatre into a raw, high-energy story about ambition, identity, family, and what it takes to get back in the fight.

At its center is an aimless fighter hesitant to step back into the ring, and his older sister, a rising rock-and-roll performer whose own career is beginning to take off. How far will they go to achieve their ambitions?

Our vision is to create a Fringe production that feels immediate, physical, and alive. We want to reach traditional theatre audiences, but we are also actively building a show for people who might not normally see themselves in a theatre: fighters, athletes, musicians, and anyone who understands the cost of chasing a dream.

Where the Idea Began

The concept began in early 2021, when some of my college friends introduced me to MMA. The fight was UFC 254: Gaethje vs. Nurmagomedov, a lightweight title fight for the undisputed championship.

To outsiders, cage fighting can look like a brutal spectacle, defined by the anticipation of two world-class athletes crashing together for a paycheck. But as the card progressed, the commentators told each fighter’s story. Combined with an electrifying pre-fight promo video, I felt a genuine spark of excitement. I did not just want to watch two people fight. I wanted to understand who they were, what had brought them there, and what they were willing to risk once the cage door closed.

After an earlier fight, a bloodied athlete praised the fans and the UFC for giving him the opportunity to compete. That moment stuck with me. What mindset does it take to succeed in this business, and even be grateful for it? How do fighters invite viewers into something so physically demanding, so dangerous, and so personal?

Inspired by those questions, and with no writing or fight experience, I began drafting the play.

It quickly became clear that simply writing “They do a complicated boxing routine” as a stage direction would never capture the effect I wanted. I needed to understand the purpose behind each punch. That realization led me to join a fight gym in Washington, D.C. I threw my first punch in August 2023, and by January 2024, I had booked my first fight. That May, I won in the second round by TKO (technical knockout).

Those firsthand experiences completely changed the play. The fight world was no longer something I was observing from the outside. I began to understand the camaraderie, discipline, fear, humor, and trust that exist between fighters and coaches. I saw how much support lives inside a sport that is often dismissed as simply violent.

The question then became: how do we connect that world with live theatre?

Why This Story Matters

Mainstream sports are easy for audiences to follow because they come with built-in loyalty: home cities, team colors, logos, traditions, and rivalries.

Fight sports do not always have those same clear-cut identifiers. Organizations like the UFC, ONE, and PFL have to act as storytellers. They introduce fighters’ families, goals, sacrifices, fears, and ambitions. They show the road to fight night. They make you want to root for someone before the first punch is ever thrown.

That became the heart of the play. This could not just be a story about wanting to fight. It could not be about being bloodthirsty, reckless, or violent for the sake of it. It had to be personal.

The Eight Faces of Ellie Morrison explores the intersection between fighters and artists: two groups of people who push their bodies, manage fear, perform under pressure, and ask audiences to believe in them. Both worlds demand resilience. Both require vulnerability. Both involve stepping into the spotlight and risking failure in public.

This show is for anyone who has ever wondered how far they would go to achieve their dream, and what it might cost to keep chasing it.

Our Team

We are a small, ambitious team of artists, producers, performers, and collaborators working to bring this first-of-its-kind production to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

The show features a cast that will not only perform a demanding theatrical text, but also train for a physically rigorous fight sequence that must be safe, believable, and emotionally grounded. Our creative team is building a world where MMA and live performance do not feel like separate ideas, but part of the same story.

We are approaching this project with the same mentality that inspired the play: discipline, trust, and a willingness to step into the unknown.

Why We’re Raising Money

Taking a production to the Fringe is an incredible opportunity, but it is also a major financial undertaking. Your support will help us give this show the level of care, safety, and visibility it deserves.

Funds raised will go directly toward:

• Rehearsal space and production costs

• Venue and Fringe-related expenses

• Fight choreography, safety support, and physical training

• Set, props, costumes, and technical needs, including the boxing ring

• Marketing, posters, flyers, and paid advertising

• PR and press outreach

• Music production and sound design

• Travel, accommodation, and basic support for the artists bringing the show to life
  
  

Every contribution helps us build a stronger, safer, and more ambitious production. Whether you are supporting new theatre, independent artists, women-led storytelling, fight sports, live music, or simply the idea of taking a big creative swing, your donation helps move this project from the page to the ring.

Our Vision

Our goal is to bring a bold, physical, and emotionally charged new play to the Edinburgh Fringe, then use that platform to build momentum for the life of the show beyond the festival.

We believe The Eight Faces of Ellie Morrison has the potential to reach audiences who do not always feel invited into traditional theatre spaces. By combining the spectacle of a fight, the energy of rock and roll, and the intimacy of live performance, we hope to create something that feels urgent, accessible, and unforgettable.

This is a play about fighting, but also about family, fame, failure, and the stories we tell to keep ourselves going.

With your help, we can bring The Eight Faces of Ellie Morrison into the world.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 30th July 2026 at 4:19pm