Photo: Box Wars
An old man brandishing a Zimmer frame, a Viking longboat, Tank Girl with her missile bra, a rooster and a pirate ship charge into battle, blood-curdling war-cries bouncing off concrete walls. Welcome to Box Wars.
“Box Wars is where people make armour and weapons out of cardboard and beat the shit out of each other to loud music” says Tamsyn Woollcombe, member of the Box Wars UK Council.
Brought over from Australia, Box Wars UK has been held on ten occasions, beginning at Forest Café, and moving to Studio 24 once it began to gain popularity. Participants construct cardboard costumes and take part in mock battles, usually during a concert.
Box Wars developed in Melbourne, and was introduced to Scotland during the travels of a friend of the members of the original Council, Demian Hobby.
“One of my best mates actually thought of the idea. He was like, ‘I have something to show you.’ We were in his backyard and he and some other mates dressed up in cardboard and beat each other up. We thought it was amazing and then they started doing it regularly,” says Hobby.
