Pedal Pusher

A show about three world-famous cyclists performed on a couple of plastic chairs may not sound like everyone's idea of a good time, but you needn't be a cycling nerd to enjoy 'Pedal Pusher'. Although this compelling devised piece by Theatre Delicatessen tells the story of Lance Armstrong, Marco Pantani and Jan Ullrich - three of the greatest cyclists of their generation - and their one meeting at the Tour de France in 2000, that's not really what it's about. 'Pedal Pusher' is a tale of obsession, sacrifice, winning at all costs, and above all, what might have been. Director Roland Smith effectively harnesses the cavernous L-shaped space of this disused worked to create epic vistas with the barest of suggestion: when the actors straddle the chairs and arch their backs, the audience is swept along with every twist and turn of their hairpin ride. And they deliver their dialogue like poetry, their voices overlapping, rising and falling with the peaks and troughs of the imagined scenary. At times the spitfire dialogue laced with names, facts and stats leaves the non-cycling buff struggling to keep up with the pacemakers. But this is an intelligent and inspired production that doesn't let you go.