The reviews are in for Cadel: Lungs On Legs, the solo play in which Connor Delves tells the story of Cadel Evans, the first Australian to win the Tour de France, while pedalling a bike on stage for most of its 70 minutes. Written by Delves and Steve McMahon and directed by Mark Barford, it opened a five-week London premiere season at Riverside Studios with a press night on Thursday 15 October, its 100th performance. The critics agree on the essentials: Delves’ physical and emotional commitment, and the race sequences backed by Lauren Cochrane’s video design. The doubts, where there are any, concern the story itself, which LondonTheatre1 and All That Dazzles find less inherently dramatic than the staging.
The verdict: nine reviews in so far, eight of them rated: three five-star notices and five at four stars, an average of 4.4 out of 5. Number 9 Reviews gives no rating. Every one of them singles out Delves’ stamina on the bike.
What are critics saying about CADEL: LUNGS ON LEGS?
A Young(ish) Perspective
“An imaginative, raw and sensationally physical telling of the ride to success”
Reviewer: Trixie Smith
Trixie Smith finds the whole production running like a well-oiled machine, with the projected race footage and Phil Liggett’s commentary carrying the audience from the outback to the Alps. She praises Delves for showing the human being inside the athlete, and for a range of characters, from teammates to his coach Aldo Sassi, that makes the solo show feel populated. Her verdict is unreservedly enthusiastic.
“This show certainly delivers, with world-class characterisation heroically pedalled out in just over an hour.”
London Box Office
Reviewer: Francesca Shaw
Francesca Shaw sees the constant cycling as the opposite of a gimmick: it puts the audience face to face with how punishing competition is. She admires Imagine Black’s design for working with the small space, the projections that recreate live race coverage, and the comic timing Delves brings to the lighter moments. In her view the play works for committed fans and newcomers alike.
“CADEL: Lungs on Legs reminds us how brilliant Fringe theatre can be…”
LouReviews
Reviewer: Louise Penn
Louise Penn likes that the story avoids the usual biographical clichés: Evans simply wanted to win, and to win cleanly in an era of doping. She credits the static bike and occasional revolve, on-stage ASM Mecca Christy, and the video, sound and lighting team for the show’s energy. A cycling fan in her party was half convinced he was watching Evans himself.
“It is informative, entertaining, charming and inspirational.”
BroadwayWorld
“The Tour de France's Yellow Jersey from 2011 brought to life with enormous energy and soul”
Reviewer: Gary Naylor
Gary Naylor writes as a cycling enthusiast and argues that theatre can catch the physical and mental strain of a Grand Tour as television cannot. He finds the linear storytelling a sensible choice given the pedalling, and is impressed by how much Delves gives at his 100th performance. His one quibble is that the ending stops at the victory speech and leaves out what Evans has done since.
“You really do feel those eponymous lungs burning, wonder with him if it’s time to call it a day…”
LondonTheatre1
Reviewer: Chris Gilbert
Chris Gilbert is the most sceptical of the group. He calls the cycling performance truly remarkable, but questions how inspiring the story is and finds the portrait of Evans rather bland, with nothing on his family. He admits to being neither a cycling fan nor Australian, and still credits a well-staged, well-acted evening, with particular praise for Cochrane’s video and Mecca Christy.
“…to present such a skilful and compelling performance this way is truly remarkable.”
All That Dazzles
“This real-life Tour de France triumph is told through exhilarating and captivating theatre”
Reviewer: Seth Wilby
Seth Wilby starts out sceptical of the bike, which is used sparingly in the early scenes, then finds the race sequences hypnotic once the play picks up speed. He feels Evans’ life does not supply much natural drama and would have liked the bike to open up more of his psychology. Delves, though, he calls transformative, and the finale left him elated.
“…this Tour de France tale is a triumphant Tour de Force.”
ReviewsGate
“Pedalling to glory.”
Reviewer: William Russell
William Russell is struck above all by the stamina involved, and by the portrait of a man determined at any cost to win the yellow jersey. He enjoys learning the small facts of professional racing along the way, and notes the help Delves gets from Mecca Christy with the bike changes. He recommends it, with some humour, to couch potatoes.
“It is an amazing performance and exhausting to watch.”
Theatre and Tonic
Reviewer: Jasmine
Jasmine came in with no interest in cycling and left planning to watch the Tour de France. She concedes that a story covering so many years has to rush some moments, but says everything clicks once Evans is racing, with the script and the real footage making it feel like live sport. She urges non-fans to go anyway.
“This show made me care about cycling. Until this point, never been my thing.”
Number 9 Reviews
Reviewer: Mary Fogg
Mary Fogg reads the play as a story about resilience rather than sport, and says you do not need to know anything about cycling to connect with it. She praises the energy and emotional commitment Delves brings, with the effort of the performance mirroring the effort it describes. The site publishes no star rating.
“The form and the subject become one; the effort isn’t simply described, it’s right there in front of us.”
Production photographs by Kyle Dax Smith.
We first wrote about the season when it was announced, in Cadel: Lungs On Legs opens a five-week London premiere season at Riverside Studios, and published the production photographs on opening day. For more of this week’s notices, see the critics on Baby at Brixton House and Tom at the Farm at the Barbican.
Cadel: Lungs On Legs runs at Riverside Studios until Sunday 15 November 2026, Tuesday to Sunday at 7.15pm with 3pm matinees on Saturdays and Sundays.
