Audience participation is the key to a new bicycle powered show for families as KATHERINE MACALISTER discovers

Frantically peddling away on a bicycle, the gramophone next to stage manager Jake Oxford winds itself up, powered by his speed, until the room is filled with the sound of a full blown opera. It’s just a demonstration of what to expect, because the show Bicycle Boy will not only teach us about power sources, but entertain us at the same time.

An ambitious project which aims to combine drama, music, passion and story-telling while ramming home an environmental message and keeping your children entertained, it’s an enormous amount to pull off within the space of hour, and yet one which is ready to rumble.

The brainchild of Helen Easterman, who was approached by the Oxford Playhouse to make a trilogy of shows for families, she came up with the Bicycle Boy concept which is being performed at Osney Mill Marina from tomorrow.

Powered by the audience via a series of bicycles, the play unfolds around Sam whose grandfather Tom dies, and on clearing out his workshop Sam finds a poignant memento which can only be activated by the power generated by the audience.

“Sam’s grandfather always promised him a surprise if he rode his bike without stabilisers and then he died before fulfilling his obligation. So when Sam uncovers the trail leading to the prize when clearing out Tom’s workshop all these years later, he can only do so with the audience’s help,” Helen explains.

Part of the Playhouse Plays Out season, Bicycle Boy is therefore the ultimate in interactive theatre and aimed at five to eight-year-olds and their families. “I’m a mum and I love going to little shows like this with my son,” Helen says, while discussing her motivation behind the play. “We hope this is a lovely introduction to young people and their friends and families, something to do all together.”

The marina site is also chosen specifically for the project.

“Bicycle Boy is set in a bike shop which is closing down because the site is being redeveloped for housing, so it’s topical,” Helen grins. “So we have got bike workshops and cycling surgeries that people can visit when they come along to the show, as well as promoting safe cycling because Oxford has such a strong affinity with bicycles.

“But I also had a real interest in the technology and I wanted to incorporate that into some kind of story, and link them together, for which I needed a big, empty space with no electricity so we wouldn’t be faking it,” Helen adds.

Osney Marina also means introducing people to places they might not otherwise come across, and takes theatre to those who might not otherwise see it, the whole motivation behind the Playhouse Plays Out concept.

As for the play itself, the two actors not only play all the characters between them, but “an alarming amount of instruments” Helen assures me, “so it will be a good old shindig with a big electric finale” she promises.

Musical director Alex Silverman agrees: “We play on the fact that bicycles are very noisy and that every part of them makes a different noise; spokes, tyres, mudguards, the bell, as you cycle your bike clunks, clicks and whirls away, and we have infused the music with real bike noises.”

But regardless of the technological, musical and moralistic theme, it’s the story that’s integral to binding together the sum of the parts, and keep the audience entertained in the meantime. “The narrative winds its way around everything else, but only works with the audience’s help. So we hope everyone will get to have a go,” Helen concludes.

  • Bicycle Boy runs at Osney Mill Marina from May 3-12. Tickets are £8.50, £5.50 concs. Call the box office on 01865 305305 or visit oxfordplayhouse.com