Review: MAMIL: MIDDLE AGED MAN IN LYCRA at The Court Theatre

Mark Hadlow excels in his hilarious one-man show MAMIL: Middle Aged Man in Lycra in a sell-out season at Christchurch's Court Theatre. Written and directed by Gregory Cooper, MAMIL plays to all Hadlow's strengths as an actor and gives him ample opportunity for humour with a good dose of clowning around. It is also not without its sensitive and thought provoking moments, particularly in the area of men's health (Hadlow himself is an ambassador for the Prostate Cancer Foundation).

Bryan Cook is an Auckland property developer who is hard working but overly career-driven, to the point he has unintentionally distanced himself from his wife and kids. When a large new development project he shares with his friend and business partner Max Kallis goes 'tits up' in the worldwide financial meltdown, he is forced to downsize. Estranged from his family, he buys a racing bicycle and joins a men's cycling group to get fit as he tries to piece his life back together and make sense of it all.

The inspiration for MAMIL came from Hadlow's own experiences on joining a men's cycling group in Wellington in order to prepare for his role in Peter Jackson's movie The Hobbit. He was very surprised by the kinds of conversations and the comradery the group had. It was not talk of the 'manly' kind one might expect (sports, beer, sex) but rather the sharing of personal thoughts with each other, talking about health, relationships, personal experiences as well as business. And the riders all came from diverse walks of life, architects, doctors, business owners. It was through later conversations with his friend, writer/director Gregory Cooper about his experiences while in the group that sparked the creation of MAMIL.

The MAMIL phenomenon has been reported widely by the press around the world. In fact, the term MAMIL has even been entered into the Oxford English Dictionary: "A middle-aged man who is a very keen road cyclist, typically one who rides an expensive bike and wears the type of clothing associated with professional cyclists." It has become perhaps the new midlife crisis, instead of the sports car or motorcycle men buy a road bike and start riding to try and get fit, at first in just a comfortable shirt and pair of shorts. But soon, of course, man's tendency for obsession starts to kick in. Bikes are upgraded, more bikes purchased, training bikes, uphill bikes, tools, pedals, gloves, cycling computers, waxing, wheel spokes, every other gadget you can imagine until the inevitable day that 'the Lycra chooses you.'

Mark Hadlow is one of New Zealand's most treasured performers, having been involved in theatre, film and television in a career spanning more than 38 years. Putting on a one-man show is always a great challenge for any actor, but one that Hadlow takes on with relish. Here he plays ten very different characters, including the bicycle and a certain 'member' of Cook's body. The way in which he is able to let all the characters interact and converse with each other on stage is stunning and a credit to the excellent writing and direction from Gregory Cooper. MAMIL is hilariously funny and an interesting and insightful look at the modern man. The scene where Cook has his prostate examined by his German doctor Hans is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time. If you have an opportunity to see this show in future grab your tickets fast, I've never seen a show sell out as completely as this one has.

MAMIL was originally commissioned by Auckland Live in 2014 and recently ran at the Court Theatre in Christchurch from August 30 to October 10 2015. MAMIL will next be in Havelock North on November the 2nd and 3rd as part of the Harcourts Hawke's Bay Arts Festival.

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