No Guts, No Heart, No Glory, a play about young, female Muslim boxers in Bradford is now showing in London, reports The Independent.

Written by Aisha Zia and Evie Manning, the play is something they stumbled across. "I was interested in writing about Muslim women and empowerment," Zia told The Independent. "I wanted to challenge expectations and stereotypes."

The duo learned about Ambreen Sadiq and Saira Tabasum, both British Pakistani Muslims and also female boxers living in Bradford, and then there was no looking back. "We contacted them and their true stories became the starting point of the play," Zia said.

After than Zia and Manning started looking for young women to fill out the production. They were looking for girls who could act and learn to box, and held auditions in schools and colleges. The girls they selected are mostly from Bradford and their parents come from various parts of Pakistan. "People come to the play and expect to see oppressed girls but actually they are having fun, they are angry and aggressive and dancing," said Manning.

In an earlier interview with The Huffington Post, Zia said: "There aren’t that many good role models any more, when you watch crap TV and there’s the Kardashians or the Towies or whatever. Everything in the media is negative or focused on terrorism, consumerism and body image. Boxing is a metaphor for being disciplined and strong, even in your daily struggles. Its not even about winning or losing, its about being present, showing up for the fight. I had a really good friend growing up and she was a role model to me. You need someone who is almost like a life coach. That’s what we loved about the boxing element... A lot of Muslim girls don’t have that."

Impressed by news of the play, many took to Twitter to appreciate the stand:

Common Wealth Theatre's 'No Guts, No Heart, No Glory' shows at Southbank Centre's WOW: Women of the World Festival, from March 5th to March 8th.