Hannah Hamilton
Have you ever thought that spin instructors are a little unhinged? This one takes to the stage, she’s loud, she’s perky, and she’s deeply troubled. Over one hour a woman comes apart by the very machinery she lives by, with biting dialogue and a heart wrenching core, it is a very intense hour.
Set to the backdrop of electronic music, and pedaling the whole time, Meg the instructor explains that this class is all about upping the resistance until you can’t take it any more. She’s had a hard, violent night and she’s determined to keep spinning until she can’t feel it anymore. It is a high octane injection of the toxic rhetoric surrounding diet, exercise, and bodily autonomy that modern women are constantly at the mercy of. She’s not just a girl, she’s an idol of discipline and desire placed centre stage.
If you’ve ever taken an exercise class, you will be familiar with the energy. It is derision under the guise of ‘girl boss’ level feminism, pushing you to go harder and feel the burn. The instructor is obsessed with numbers, her weight and the ‘resistance’ level of her bike, as said in the show ‘if I can track it, I can control it’. It is obvious to the audience that the instructor has a disordered relationship to their body, and this creates an eerie disconnect with the 100 watt smile and relentlessly upbeat tone of voice.
Through the monologue, the emergent character of her boyfriend appears, a clear antagonist in the piece. She sacrifices a life she loved in New York to be with him in L.A., and the audience can’t help but empathise because we all know someone who has done this. It’s hard to watch this woman, who is so clearly capable and in control in this room, become so disposable in the life of another. Tomei takes us on a deeply emotional journey, as the instructor tries to push past her suffering and find a sort of absolution in this exercise.
The piece felt a touch one-note as the energy started high and was maintained for nearly the full production, which suffocated the text at times. Although the production clearly wanted to convey mania and this unceasing sort of anxiety, it could use a touch more breathing room. Largely, this was not aided by the sound design, the pounding club beat throughout was very apt for the context of an exercise class, but without variation in volume or tempo it did not support the emotional peaks and valleys of the piece.
Meg gives an anxiety-inducing performance, that really captures the unhealthy, health obsessed, rhetoric of modern womanhood. Watch as she keeps pedaling through everything that wants to push her down, even when pedaling hurts her more. Consider what is holding you back, then come push past the resistance in this high energy and aggressive experience.
Recommended Drink: Green smoothie, extra protein, add collagen, add goji berries, vitamn B40, every peptide, and pre workout.
Catch SpinQueen™ at Jade Studio at Greenside @ George Street until August 29th from 19:35 (60mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Salvador Kent
Issy Cory
