Hew Parham. Brink Productions. Space Theatre. 17 Jan 2023
‘The Symphony of the Bicycle’ is in some ways Hew Parham’s one man tribute to the Italian cycle racer Gino Bartoli, but it is much more than that.
Context.
Opening night for this theatre show was scheduled midweek during the Tour Downunder, so you can assume the full house was partisan, on board and understanding. Parham reveals an understanding of the life and times of Bartoli (known as ‘the Pious’ for his faith and dedication) and as an Italian champion who gave his efforts for Italy, and was lauded in his own country yet perhaps not so highly rated elsewhere, even though he won the Tour de France.
Clearly Parham is a fan of cycling and of Bartoli in particular, but two points need be made: Fausto Coppi is better known and the better cyclist, though Bartoli had a peasant’s heroic back-story. His career was halted by the Second World War, and many years later it was discovered that Bartoli had kept cycling on training rides through the war years as cover for his activities saving Jews from the Nazi’s as he rode across northern Italy with documents secreted within his bike frame.
In telling the story of his hero worship, Parham introduces other characters into the performance narrative, and it on this point things seem to become a little hazy for me. If there is to be a hero it is usual that there be an anti-hero, and this role is filled by the unlikable fitness guru Gavin Chestnutt. In his attempt to become a cyclist of note Parham also butts heads with a childhood friend (perhaps not a friend), the boofheaded athlete Jake Johnson, who steals the girl and becomes a cycling champion. We do therefore have in these protagonists the foils to Parham’s success, but herein lies my confusion.
I am not sure whether Parham’s story here is about achievement or conquest. Whether ‘tis better to suffer for one’s great triumphs (sporting glory in this narrative) or to pursue the goal of being a better person? Bartoli himself was beset by doubts and anxiety, and in many ways I felt the telling of the story Symphonie de la Bicyclette would be much strengthened by simplicity.
The performance by the way was excellent; Parham is accomplished and organised in his character reveal. An accent is adjusted, the timing is altered slightly and he, at times, overplays his hand and tips in pathos. It is an excellent performance but my mind had wandered as I contemplated the provenance of the only major prop on stage, a gleaming gold bicycle on an indoor training stand. I later discovered many other cyclists in the audience had similarly wandered in their thoughts, but by the end of the show I felt I knew little more than I had discovered by around about minute 20 (I shall not give away the ending because it seemed a little anticlimactic, in any case).
“I was so busy trying to be someone else I forgot to be me,” Parham says at one point. It seems a perfectly apposite reflection.
Alex Wheaton
When: Closed
Where: Space Theatre
Bookings: Closed
