EDINBURGH 2023: Review: ON YOUR BIKE, Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose

The Edinburgh Fringe truly demonstrates that anything can be a musical. Whether it’s recent political events, or a modern cultural phenomenon, On Your Bike gives the humble delivery driver a moment in the spotlight. After winning a best musical award at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2021, the show returns to Edinburgh for another spin – pun intended.

We follow two delivery drivers of the ambiguously named EatsARoo, who find themselves in a love-hate relationship with their “flexible” gig-economy role to pursue other vocations and passions. We meet two other characters, Felix, a local chicken shop owner, and Daisy, EatsARoo’s PR manager and a love triangle and a high street battle ensues.

Emily Huxter and Xander Pang are endearing opposite each other as Gemma and Aidan, pals and cycling colleagues – sorry I should say “cycling stakeholders” – and Tom Hayes and Maddie Smith give larger-than-life comedic performances as Felix and Daisy, resulting in many laughs from the appreciative audience.

A fairly minimal set pokes fun at the lack of seating for delivery drivers outside city centre eateries other than the odd bollard. There was some clever use of some spinning pizza boxes at the top of the show, and potentially more could have been made of this device in other scenes with more culinary-based choreography using packaging from other cuisines to suggest set pieces.

Ben James’ boppy score is crammed full of toe-tapping grooves – and well-played by Joseph Giles at the piano. The pacing of the odd scene (written by real-life Deliveroo driver Joe Venable) needs fine-tuning within the hour-long runtime, but all the elements of a musical are there: a world-establishing opening number, a heartfelt “I want song”, characters you care about, Easter eggs from other musicals, and plenty of catchy numbers – this reviewer was humming the finale for quite some time after leaving Patter Hoose.

For an hour of pure fun with a pinch of anti-capitalism, walk, run or cycle to On Your Bike!

On Your Bike at Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose until 27 Aug

Image credit: Ben Nicholson

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