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On Your Bike

 
Tom Rolph Review by Tom Rolph 4 Published: 3 Sep 2023 Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose Show Dates: 2 Aug 2023-27 Aug 2023

This returning musical is an exceptionally joyful and tremendously funny look into the lives of food delivery drivers. The show follows ‘Eatsaroo’ riders, Gemma and Aidan, who are just getting by and possibly have a budding romance, as well. That is until Daisy, Eatsaroo PR person comes along to mess it up. The story is simple, but wholesome and allows for the music to shine through at many key moments.

An exceptionally joyful and tremendously funny look into the lives of food delivery drivers

Aidan, played by Xander Pang, is incredibly charismatic and sings with a wonderfully powerful voice and delightful humour. Starring opposite him is Emily Hunter who plays Gemma. Hunter shows off a wide range of her character and has a beautiful voice that excelled throughout. Tom Hayes played a hilarious character as the owner of a chicken shop, his songs were met with howls of laughter alongside his excellent performance. Maddie Smith played the final character of Daisy to just the right amount of irritatingly corporate before she became completely unlikeable. Smith's singing was great and characterisation was consistently entertaining.

The show itself was fun from beginning to end, packed with upbeat, incredibly well composed numbers that stick in your head as you walk out the door. The simple use of props also allowed for hilarity in almost every part of the show, from pizza boxes used as bicycle wheels to shops seamlessly being turned from chicken to falafel. However, for a fun, comic show it also contains a strong message on the issues faced by drivers for food delivery companies. They touch on sick pay, debt, and corporate greed all with an optimistic outlook and keeping the audience relentlessly amused.

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The Blurb:

Gemma and Aidan deliver food they can't afford for mega-corporation Eatsaroo – but things get messy when it cuts their pay and starts muscling in on their budding romance. That's one weird love triangle. They resolve to group together and take on the bosses – but fighting a billion-dollar algorithm isn't that easy. Winner of Best Musical at the Edinburgh Fringe, 2021 (MusicalTheatreReview.com). 'Raucously witty to its core... has a kick-ass soundtrack to boot' ***** (BingeFringe.com). 'A riotous delight of a show' ***** (MusicalTheatreReview.com). 'Finger-clicking good' ***** (TheatreWeekly.com).