One week in….
July 16th, 2009 by Josh Cass
And if we were actually riding the Tour de France we would be somewhere around Arcalis by now, as it is, we have just got the first week under our belt.
And the overwhelming feeling? A sense that audiences might actually be enjoying the show as much as we are performing it. Going into a project like this which has such a specialist area of interest and such a strong focus on the look and style of it, it was a concern, well... at least to me, that audiences would find it difficult to relate to, but so far so good! We've got a long way to go before Paris though!
Tour de Farce? The Bike Show interview with Roland Smith
July 7th, 2009 by admin
From thebikeshow.net:
"A long, hard look at doping in professional cycling, with journalist Lionel Birnie of Cycling Weekly and theatre director Roland Smith, whose play Pedal Pusher, opens in London on 7th July."
Hear the interview:
Announcing our Summer Production PEDAL PUSHER – a story of the Tour de France
May 24th, 2009 by admin
It doesn't get easier. You just go faster
7th July - 1st August 2009
Tickets available online soon
The Tour De France will come to London's West End this summer thanks to theatredelicatessen's continued residency at Cavendish Gate.
Drawing on interviews, archive footage and news reports, Pedal Pusher combines docu-drama and devised performance to tell the true story of the cyclists battling to become champion of the Tour de France.
Through the mountains, the crashes, the sprints to the streets of Paris, Pedal Pusher captures the excitement, intrigue and danger of one of the most gruelling sporting events known to man.
After all, to put yourself through all this for the sake of a bicycle race you'd have to be crazy...
...Or on drugs.
Pedal Pusher follows three cyclists – Jan Ullrich, Marco Pantani and Lance Armstrong – through the five years that changed sporting history forever. From Jan Ullrich winning the Tour de France in 1997, through the near-collapse of the Tour de France in 1998, Armstrong's battle with cancer and the allegations of drug abuse that have dogged cycling for so long.
By interweaving the biographical stories with recreations of the Tour de France onstage, the play tells the difficult but up-lifting story of their lives through excitement and energy of the race itself.
Pedal Pusher :: Inspirations
May 11th, 2009 by Roland Smith
The initial conception for Pedal Pusher came from my interest in depicting a sport, a race on stage. In a sense, the drama of the days racing, the exhaustion, the passion, the tragedy is extremely theatrical - almost melodramatic.
Where the interest lies is the physicality - the simplicity of the body in space.
Breathtaking.
Here is a slideshow of photographs I took whilst watching the Tour de France on Alpe d'Huez a couple of years back. These may be of interest to anyone coming to audition at the weekend.
(and watch out for a cameo from theatredelicatessen artistic director, Jessica Brewster!)
