“Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth” Former Boxing Champion Tells Life Stories in a One Man Show

This article discusses recent reviews of Mike Tyson’s one man show. It also discusses reasons why the reviews said the show was so bad.rnMike Tyson’s one-man show, Undisputed Truth, finished its run on August 12th and was generally agreed by critics to be bad. Directed by Spike Lee, performed by Tyson himself, and written by his current wife, Kiki, the show has been described as resembling a press release or a slideshow of his life.rnThe failure of the show is likely due to the fact that Tyson did not write it himself. One critic compares the stuffily scripted lines of this show to an actual quote of Tyson’s during an interview years ago: “sometimes I say, ‘God, it would be good to be a fake somebody rather than a real nobody,’” which rings poignantly with truth. Because the play was not written by Tyson himself, it suffers greatly with too much of an emphasis on narrative and settling-of-scores, according to critics, rather than a look into Tyson’s thoughts on his career as a boxing champion or his perspective on boxing in general, or even his perspective on himself. Tyson’s address on his conviction of rape came off, according to most critics, as merely an attempt to clear his name and justify himself.rnHis time in prison was only discussed in terms of humorous anecdotes, which is unfortunate. Many find a new part of themselves while incarcerated, and I think to learn more about Tyson’s internal changes due to the time he spent behind bars, especially if he was innocent of the crime as he claims, would be fascinating. Unfortunately, this was not touched upon because, as I said before, Tyson did not write the show himself.rnOne of the places it seems most apparent that Tyson’s current wife, Kiki, was the authoress is where Tyson goes on an exorbitantly long rant about his ex-wife. Every review I’ve read writes that this section was in extremely poor taste, unbelievable and overdramatic.rnThis show really emphasizes the point that a one man performance solely about one’s life and career really needs to be written by the performer, the subject of the piece. In most theatre, actors play parts written by other people, but the difference is that actors are playing parts. People watch a play for entertainment, to believe that what is shown on stage is real– to an extent. It seems the biggest problem with Tyson’s show is that it wasn’t at all real, and since it was supposed to be about his life story, about himself rather than a scripted, fictional play, it was essential that the performance ring true. If something fictional seems more real than something that is supposed to be portraying truth, there is a problem with the “real” play.rnIf Tyson wants to wow audiences, he needs to sit down with a pen and paper and do some soul searching. He may not be a literary genius, but even if the language is simple, if it comes from the heart, then it will ring further and more strongly than anything somebody else could write. It’s his life after all.