Cyclists needed to power radical new theatre show

Coming to York Theatre Royal next month, A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction uses energy generated by on-stage cyclists riding specially adapted bicycles to power all the electricity needed for lighting and sound.

York Theatre Royal are looking for local volunteers to saddle up and be part of this innovative production. Eight cyclists are needed for each performance, which will run straight through for 1 hour 20 minutes.

Anyone who wants to get involved can find out more on the York Theatre Royal website at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/pedalpower. The deadline for signing up is Monday 11 September.

A Play For The Living In A Time Of Extinction is a co-production between York Theatre Royal, Headlong and the Barbican.  This darkly funny, yet life-affirming play written by Miranda Rose Hall takes the audience on a life-changing journey to confront the urgent ecological disaster that is unfolding around us. Part ritual, part battle cry, this fiercely feminist off-grid production is a moving exploration of what it means to be human in an era of man-made extinction.

Sharing learning from Europe and Katie Mitchell, Headlong’s innovative touring model, the first of its kind in the UK, explores the idea of a play touring, while the people do not. The Barbican hosted the beginning of this journey and now each city on the tour will follow a blueprint of the show, brought to life by a different team of theatre makers at each venue. It forms part of a ground-breaking international experiment in reimagining theatre in a climate crisis.

Director of the York leg of A Play For The Living in a Time of Extinction, and Resident Artist at York Theatre Royal, Mingyu Lin said: ‘York is the final stop for this ground-breaking concept of sustainable touring and I’m so excited to be directing our own version of this ambitiously eco-conscious and witty show, that will be made (and powered!) by locally based talent.’