HISTORY OF THE COMPANY
Fighting Fit Productions was born in 1992, in a co-production with  Theatre Workshop in Auckland (New Zealand). The show was called  "Till Death Do Us" , and was an experimental musical. Declan Patrick wrote the script and also directed and choreographed, helped by  Angela Brown (direction),  Angie Heape (choreography) and the magnificent team of  Pam Sellers and Adam D´Urbingnon, who wrote and performed the music. the show got very good reviews and good houses, but was a difficult, unhappy show.This was partly because of the material (the Bluebeard story) and partly because of conflicts between the production team and the performance team.

In fact it was so traumatic it took Declan two years to create his next show,  "The Expensive Spirit". This one-man show used songs, poems and texts from many different authors and also original choreography and text from Declan. Angela Brown again assisted with direction and Pam and Trina Sellers were the musical directors. The show opened in Auckland and toured to Wellington.
Declan Patrick
"The Expensive Spirit"


In "Hardy Drew and the Nancy Boys", Declan and Pam teamed up with Anton Bently in a camp cabaret. It was performed during the "HERO 95" festival.

"Iolanthe Expresso", a re-invention of the Gilbert and Sullivan classic, was performed in "Footsteps" in 1995. It was very popular with both critics and the public. The company included  Kate Mathewson as designer and production manager, Frances Caldwell, Julianne Evans, Samm Hurd, Ellisa Langton and Anton Bently. It was also the last time founder member Johnathan Roberts (lighting design and operation) worked with the company.


1996 saw the last show in New Zealand for Fighting Fit for seven years. It was a dance-theatre show, called "Uniforms". It was mainly choreographed by Declan Patrick, with Jan McLeod contributing choreography and also working as Ballet Mistress. It starred Frances Caldwell, Willa O´Neill,  Miriam Cuperman-Sadler, Claire Templar, Sally-Anne Bertoni, Jean-Paul Collins and Kimberly Olson.

In 1996 the company decided to try its luck in England. This change resulted in  "Rising Vamp" a short film written and directed by Declan. It was about lesbian vampires and American tourists in London, and  was shown at the University of North London. It starred Ruth Churchman, Amber Jeavons and Sacha Mann, with a cameo from Australian singer Penny Barass. Jane Thompson worked as cinematographer and editor.




This was followed by "The Juicy Lucy Show"  in 1998. This dance-theatre piece was inspired by the antics of Ricki Lake, and showed a chat-show were everything goes wrong.  Ellisa Langton and Anton Bently were reunited as a warring married couple, while newcomers Breeze Robertson and Rachel Chisholme made their Fighting Fit debut.
Miriam Cuperman and Declan Patrick
"Uniforms"
Miriam Cuperman
"Uniforms"
In 2000 Declan wrote "A Nun´s Tale" a play that was never performed. Instead the company started working on  "Mujeres". This marked the beginning of a new era, with producer José Díaz joining the team, along with Ballet Mistress Yvonne Hunt. The show was first performed in November 2001 at the Cultural Centre Lavapiés in Madrid.
More shows followed, "Crossed Paths 1" at Teatro Madrid, "Crossed Paths 2" on Chinese TV for an AIDS awareness gala, then back to New Zealand for a season of "Women" in 2003, in Auckland and on Waiheke.
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