Fringe Review: CADEL: LUNGS ON LEGS, Auditorium at Gilded Balloon at the Museum
Photo credit: Adam Kenna
An inspiring feat of theatre, one-man show Cadel: Lungs on Legs, on the face of it, is very impressive. Delivered mostly on high-end road bikes linked up to a turbo trainer, Connor Delves plays Cadel Evans, Australia’s first and only Tour de France winner as Delves pedals through his life story. Interspersed with real life footage throughout Evans’ professional cycling career and anecdotes along the way, Cadel: Lungs on Legs is a captivating story of one man’s resilience in sport.
Delves plays an enigmatic Evans clad in full cycling kit as the story begins at the penultimate stage of the historic Tour de France in 2011. As the suspense ratchets up, we are cast back in time to Evans’ childhood growing up in the bush in Australia, from his first bike to cycling to school. Whilst the show is light on his family history and upbringing, the skeleton is laid out to pave the way for the future cyclist and his achievements.
Evans quickly joins professional teams and is headlong into the world of professional cycling: the coaches, the competitions and the drugs testing. It is a whirlwind of press and how to behave that again is touched upon lightly, with the real focus of the performance on Evans’ Tour de France appearances in the years leading up to his win in 2011. With little to gauge of his personality through any relationships, we are left with the vivacious Evans presented onstage by a remarkably athletic Delves.
Impressively used footage from the Tour de France televised at the time is projected behind a pedalling Delves, with commentators voices ringing throughout the Auditorium at Gilded Balloon at the Museum. The tension at the time is recreated with intensifying effect complete with the picture of Delves cycling in the foreground. It is an energetic performance unpacking the rollercoaster of being an athlete competing on a global stage.
What cements this impressive performance is the dynamic, unique staging and the powerhouse that is Delves throughout the show. It is an entertaining voyage into the formidable world of professional cycling, which lacks a little more of the emotional substance but proves to be quite the ride regardless.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Hannah Goldswain
CADEL: Lungs on Legs plays at Edinburgh Festival Fringe until 30 Aug, with further info here.