Spin Cycles at Camden People’s Theatre

Following critically acclaimed runs at the Edinburgh Fringe and Cape Town, satirical one-woman show Spin Cycles is picking up the pace for their run at Camden People’s Theatre in February. Written and performed by Jamie-Lee Money ((Escape Room, SONY; TROY: Fall of a City, Netflix) Spin Cycles is a sweaty, sharp and unexpectedly tender exploration of grief and the strange places we go to feel something when life tips off its axis.

Performed entirely on and around a spin bike, through a blend of stand-up storytelling and physical endurance, audiences are thrown headfirst into the cult-like world of boutique spin studios. The show follows a young South-African journalist living in London, who is tasked with reviewing a new spin studio for a luxury wellness publication. Amid flashing lights, thumping playlists and motivational mantras, Lolly faces anticipatory grief tied to her mother’s breast cancer, the loss of her grandfather and a close friend, and her anxiety about inherited conditions, illness and the body she inhabits.

Since its Fringe debut, Spin Cycles has been developed through a long-standing collaboration between writer-performer Jamie-Lee Money and director Larica Schnell (Hamlet: On the Radio, The Old Globe; A Midsummer Night’s Dream Globe for All Tour, The Old Globe). Blending autobiographical material with sharp observational humour and physical storytelling, Money’s performance shifts between intimacy and exertion, presenting an honest and visceral approach to grief and healing.

Writer-performer Jamie-Lee Money comments, Since writing the show, I’ve found two breast lumps myself - at 32, that’s a terrifying thought. Not only do I like my boobs and my hair, but, selfishly, I don’t want to go through what my mum went through. This show is about strength, bravery and confronting your demons, even when they’re only the size of a grape.