Award-winning solo show celebrating the joy of cycling and human endurance, Look, No Hands by Scottish actor and writer Lila Clements makes its Edinburgh Fringe debut at the Red Lecture Theatre, Summerhall, 3 – 28 August 2022, 4.30pm. There will also be three performances over two days at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre on 29 July and 30 July.
An uplifting story of hope and survival, Look, No Hands is inspired by a real-life cycling collision in 2010 experienced by the show’s writer and performer Lila Clements. Recipient of the 2021 National Partnership Award with Pleasance Theatre and Pitlochry Festival Theatre, this one-person play explores the female cycling experience and the phenomenon known as Post Traumatic Growth.
Directed by Anna Ryder, it has been made in partnership with Velociposse, a cycling club aimed at getting more women and non-binary people into cycling, with inspiration, support and knowledge.
Lila Clements comments, “I started writing Look, No Hands in January 2020. It was coming up to the 10-year anniversary of my bike crash - which is the centre of the show. When the pandemic struck and lockdown happened, I began to see parallels between my own experiences and the global trauma we were all facing - many people’s lives had been turned upside down by Covid-19 and we were living in completely new territory.”
Director Anna Ryder said, “Lila’s writing beautifully captures what it feels like when your world shifts forever. It’s pacy, moving and gives audiences a new lens through which to examine upheaval."
LOOK, NO HANDS
Written and performed by Lila Clements
Directed by Anna Ryder; Movement Director Michael Spenceley; Lighting Designer Jenny Roxburgh; Sound Designer Sam Diaz
3 – 28 August 2022 (except 15 & 22 August), 4.30pm
Cyclist Vee has no idea why she’s woken up in hospital. Armed with only her medical notes and a
surprise appearance on 24 Hours in A&E, she tries to piece together exactly what has happened to her. But the mystery she can’t solve is why something so awful... has made her feel so fantastic!
Inspired by a real-life cycling collision, this award-winning solo show by Scottish artist Lila
Clements, is an uplifting story of hope and survival, made in partnership with female cycling club
Velociposse.
After premièring at the Pleasance Theatre in 2021, Look, No Hands was streamed on Stream.Theatre for 8-weeks. Tiny Giant Productions are producing the Edinburgh Festival Fringe run.
Running time: 60 minutes
Age guidance: 12+, references to traumatic experiences and infrequent strong language
Look, No Hands has been made possible through grants and support from Arts Council England, Pleasance Theatre Trust, Velociposse, The Actor’s Centre and Pitlochry Festival Theatre.
Tickets for the performances at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre go on sale to the public on 17 June. More information can be found on the Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s website here: pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com/whats-on/look-no-hands/
Lila Clements is a writer and actor originally from Dundee. She has worked across theatre, television, film, radio and voiceover. As an actor, she has appeared in work for BBC Two, Sky, Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre Scotland, Shakespeare’s Globe, Park Theatre and Audible. As an emerging writer, her first short play Ten was selected by Tamasha Theatre as part of a regional voices new writing project. Her play Typeface was selected to develop with Drayton Arms Theatre, and she was recently commissioned by Pitlochry Festival Theatre to write a piece about the River Tay on the banks of her hometown.
Anna Ryder is a freelance theatre director specialising in developing new writing. She has predominantly directed work in the Northeast region and is an associate artist of Live Theatre, Newcastle. Directing credits include Cheer Up Slug, Get Yourself Together (supported by the Royal Exchange, Manchester), Rendezvous, Locker Room Talk (Live Theatre), Ring, Ring, Ring (Cut the Cord), Spring REVEL (RSC), Teddy (Durham Book Festival), and Stupid, Melva (Mortal Fools). Assistant and associate directing credits include The Whip, King John (RSC), Lands: Beating The Bounds, Wet House (Live Theatre), Broken Biscuits (Paines Plough), Get Carter (JMK Regional Bursary recipient), Tallest Tales From The Furthest Forest (Northern Stage).
LOOK, NO HANDS
Summerhall
Red Lecture Theatre, Summerhall, 1 Summerhall, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH9 1PL
Wednesday 3 - Sunday 28 August 2022 (except 15 & 22 August), 4.30pm
0131 560 1580 / info@summerhall.co.uk
Tickets are priced at £13 (£11 concessions) 3 – 28 August
Previews: Wednesday 3 Aug £8, Thursday 4 Aug £10
