Review by Liz Eichler of “Red Bike”: Know Theatre
Remember when you were young and you had a bike, and you would go fast, past trees and houses, feeling the wind whipping at you and anything was possible?
Know Theatre“™s production of “œRed Bike“ brings back those moments of exhilaration“”and a little bit of fear. Fear of losing control, fear of growing up–all neatly packed and shipped into the Rolling World Premiere Production of Caridad Svich“™s “œRed Bike,“ running through February 2. Treat yourself to a 70-minute performance to make you feel and remember what it was like when anything was possible“”to grow up and be a firefighter, or even a helicopter.
This is a powerful ride through your memories, told non-linearly, with the poetry of word and movement. Directed (and choreographed?) deftly by Holly L. Derr, it is the story of an 11-year old in those moments before a bike crash, when you know you are training for the tour de France (because
you will be in it someday), because anything is possible, despite what mom or the old man on the bus say.
The lithe Montez O. Jenkins-Copeland and malleable Maliyah Gramata-Jones own the stage and move in and out of characters with ease and humor. The stage is scattered with many Amazon packing boxes, which they pile, manipulate, and accent the story. Parts of assorted bikes are scattered on the stage, some used throughout the play, but the only complete bike is in our memory“”kudos to Andrew
Hungerford for Scenery and Lighting.
The only question I have is the repetitive sound breaks between the scenes, wishing there were more variety in the sound itself or perhaps varying the location of the sound break, in this space in our head.
So go back in time and race through the streets of your childhood again, see this moving homage to your first freedom on wheels, before life and things cluttered things up.
Tickets to “œRed Bike“ are available at knowtheatre.com or 513-300-5669.