BIKE FACE by Natalie Frijia
Directed by Mandy Roveda

7pm March 18-19

KWLT
9 Princess St. E, Waterloo, ON N2J 2H4

BikeFace is a two-wheeled adventure of Canadian proportions, spinning strange-but-true tales from a ride across the country! There are graveyard groundskeepers, wild west proprietors, and wanderers with secrets only fit for strangers. This one-woman storytelling whirlwind, performed by Clare Blackwood, retraces a real-life bike ride from Halifax to Vancouver, uphill and against the wind the whole way.

During the Victorian bicycle craze, medical professionals cautioned that while it is fine for a young, adventurous man to ‘take to the wheel’, if women should follow suit it would undoubtedly result in weakened hearts, epilepsy, exhaustion, appendicitis, dysentery, nervous attacks, insomnia, and physical injury. But deadliest of all was the condition called “bicycle face” – an over-exerted, wild-eyed feminine vulgarity with nothing before her but the wide open road. Over a century later, the Journal of Paediatric Psychology still finds that girls are four times more likely than boys to be warned about the dangers inherent in adventure and exploration. This is where BikeFace takes off, telling a story of “breaking gender stereotypes, bravery, endurance, camaraderie” (Life With More Cowbell) and why girls can be adventurers too. Hailed as a “funny, heartfelt adventure that’s equal parts classic road trip story (but on two wheels) and feminist ode to cycling” (NOW Magazine), BikeFace will tickle your funny bone, and, above all else, ignite your thirst for adventure!

Best of Fringe (Toronto Fringe 2018)
Patron’s Pick (Toronto Fringe 2018)
Critic’s Choice (Hamilton Fringe 2018)
NNNN (NOW Magazine Rave Review)
☆☆☆☆☆ (Vue Weekly Rave, Edmonton Fringe 2017)