Andrew Ritchie isn’t here to sway your opinion on bike lanes.
“I don’t think that’s necessarily possible in a 75-minute show,” says the actor, playwright and artistic director of Edmonton’s Thou Art Here Theatre. Still, his award-winning solo play Cycle, playing at the Roxy Theatre until Oct. 26, digs deep into the often contentious topic of active transportation from the perspective of a financially challenged bike food courier.
The hotly debated bike lanes issue – especially relevant ahead of the Oct. 20 civic election – came to a head this summer when Alberta’s transportation minister threatened to halt bike lane construction in several north-side neighbourhoods, which is unfolding as part of a $100 million bike plan. “There is a lot of conversation around it, which is exciting in many ways for the play,” says Ritchie. “People have very strong opinions about it, no matter where they land on the political spectrum. (Bike lanes) have become part of the culture wars online and in everyday conversation.”
Cycle, which premiered last year, chronicles both the danger and exhilaration of urban biking from the seats of several bikes, often zipping around the stage. The story draws from Ritchie’s experiences as a Toronto bike food courier, as well as an avid cyclist and cycling activist, but it’s also largely improvised. In each show, Ritchie engages directly with the audience, inviting them to take a seat in one of the stationaries next to the stage, while he asks them to share stories of feeling joy and fear behind the handlebars.
“It allows people to dive into the show. When that happens, you connect more with your emotions and your empathetic self,” says Ritchie. (Hot tip: if you want to ride one of the bikes, make sure you’re at the theatre 15 minutes early.)
The successful 12-run show earned four Sterling Award nominations and one win (for outstanding multimedia design) — a fantastic achievement for an indie theatre production — and gained the attention of the Theatre Network, now giving Cycles another 12-day run at the historic Roxy Theatre. “We are working on touring the show,” says Ritchie, noting the potential for the story to resonate across Canada. “Every municipality is dealing with this pressure of how we move people around in public space.”
Beyond the active transportation debate, Cycles is also a commentary on the flawed gig economy, stemming from Ritchie’s experience as a working artist paying the bills working for food delivery apps, such Uber Eats and Door Dash, which in downtown Toronto hire cyclists for faster service. “We all know that more people are working more jobs,” says Ritchie, who returned to Edmonton, his hometown, in 2020. “Even when someone has a full-time job, they sometimes augment it with something else because it’s getting harder. The cost of living is just going up and wages and salaries aren’t matching that.”
Cycle runs at The Roxy Theatre from Oct. 15 – 26, 2025.
