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The epic true story of the first Australian to win the Tour de France, live on stage. One actor. One bike. One hour. Performed entirely on a bike in an epic theatrical feat of endurance by acclaimed Australian actor Connor Delves. Pedalling non-stop for an hour, he recreates the thrilling journey of Cadel's 2011 Tour de France win, and all the triumphs, heartaches and sacrifices made along the way.
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Atmospheric new play charts the trials and triumphs of Cadel Evans – the only Australian to win the Tour de France-Coming to Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2035
Who's Who
Cast
Creative Team
Mark Barford
Steve McMahon
Connor Delves
Eva Sheehy-Moss
Nate Edmondson
Meet the Company
Connor Delves
Mark Barford
Mark Barford is an Australian born stage director, writer and producer based in New York City.
He specializes in the development of new work and the reimagining of classics. Mark is
founding Co-Artistic & Executive Director of The Australian Theatre Festival NYC. Recent
directing highlights include: ‘Python’ (Theatre Row, NYC), ‘ A Midsummer Night’s Dream’
(Theatre Row, NYC), ‘Wavelength’ (Theatre Row, NYC), ‘As You Like It’ (Circle in the Square,
NYC), ‘The Children’s Hour’ (Circle in the Square, NYC), ‘Hubris & Humiliation’ (Theaterlab,
NYC), ‘The Tiniest Thing’ (Alchemical, NYC), and the award-winning production ‘Breakfast’
(Secret Theatre, NYC). He wrote and co-directed ‘Stranded’ (ATF online), and co-wrote &
directed ‘Hadrian & Antinous’ (Lenfest, NY) and the Croatian National Theatre production of
‘Antidote’ (CNT, Rijeka). Mark’s multi award-winning, 5 star production of ‘F*cking Men’ played
at The Vaults London (11 week run), Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Assembly Festival),
International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, and The King’s Head Theatre London (multiple sold-
out seasons). As resident director for ICW productions/ The Music Theatre Company of W.A, he
directed large-scale productions of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’, ‘The Sound of Music’, ‘The
Mikado’, ‘CATS’, and ‘Company’. Other directing highlights include: ‘King Richard II’, ‘The
Cherry Orchard’, ‘Freddie’, ‘Dark Meat’, ‘The Only Living Boys in South Jersey’, ‘Hillary &;
Monica’, ‘The Cat in the Box’, and ‘Never Mind the Monsters’. Mark has worked as an assistant
to directors Barrie Kosky on ‘La Boheme’ (Komische Oper, Berlin) and Ivo van Hove on
‘Network’ (Belasco, Broadway). He has been an educator for over 10 years and is currently on
faculty at Circle in the Square Theatre School in NYC. Mark is a graduate of the Acting
Shakespeare program at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London and holds a Bachelor of
Arts (Film & Theatre) and Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary Teaching) from Murdoch
University. He earned an MFA in Theatre Directing from Columbia University, under professors
Anne Bogart and Brian Kulick. Mark is an Associate Member of the Stage Directors and
Choreographers Society (SDC). www.markbarford.com IG @markbarford
Steve McMahon
Steve McMahon is a Scottish actor and writer based in Florida. He is an Assembly ART Award winner, has been shortlisted for the Alba Award, longlisted for the Theatre 503 International Playwriting Award, and was a semi-finalist for the Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference. He has performed with the National Theatre of Scotland, Adirondack Shakespeare Company and Bard in the Botanics and his plays have been produced or developed by Brite Theater, Theatre Lab, Origin Theatre Company, Traverse Theatre Company, Fundamental Theater Project, Nylon Fusion, Village Pub Theatre, The Arctic Group, IRT Theater, Bridge Street Theatre, NYC Fridge Fest and Strange Town. He trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City where he co-founded and edited The Dionysian playwriting magazine and the Caffe Cino theatre book series.
Connor Delves
Connor Delves is an Australian-born, New York-based actor, singer, producer, and director who has worked in the US, UK & Australia. Recent TV/Film: "Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game" with Mike Faist (Hulu), "Sugar Plum Twist" (Hallmark), "The Weight Of Home" (SIFF). Connor starred as Mercutio in the UK premiere of "Starcrossed" at Wilton's Music Hall, London, for which he earned OFFIE and BroadwayWorld Nominations. Critical praise for his performance includes: "Connor Delves is truly fabulous...his speech at the top of act two is a masterpiece" - WhatsOnStage. Delves' electric performance" - Theatre and Other Things London. "Delves' energetic and deliciously posturing Mercutio is a thrill to watch as he minces about the stage" - London Life. "This year's discovery of blazing talent is hands down, Connor Delves" - Curtain UP. He also recently starred in The "Bloody Ballad Of Bette Davis: The Musical" at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where he has been quoted as playing a “wonderfully woozy Karen Black…(with a ) beautiful singing voice that shines” - The Recs & “The show’s VIP, Connor Delves, who plays Karen Black with a believable mix of distraught compulsion and pizazz, all while crooning marvelously” - Fringe Review. Select Off-Broadway credits include: "Daniel's Husband" (Westside) , "Endangered: The Musical" (Davenport), "Holy Day" (New Ohio) & "Precious Little Talent" (West End Theatre). He is a proud graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (NY) and was a member of the 2017 NY Academy Company. He is represented in the U.S. by Metropolis Artist Agency, and TTA in the UK. Connor is a Founding Co-Artistic Director & Executive Producer of The Australian Theatre Festival NYC. IG: @connordelves , www.connordelves.com
Eva Sheehy-Moss
Eva is a New York and Boston based actor, director, and playwright. She is in her final year at Boston University where she is pursuing her BFA in Theatre Arts (Performance). She recently returned from a year abroad in which she worked as a Director and Stage Manager at Axis Theatre, and studied Acting at Dublin City University and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Last year Eva performed at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Piper Theatre’s The Bloody Ballad of Bette Davis, and she is thrilled to be returning to the Fringe this summer.
Nate Edmondson
Nate is an international, multi-award winning composer, lyricist, writer, sound designer, musical director, (and occasional video designer) for film, television, radio, advertising and stage. He is currently a full-time composer, lyricist, and sound designer for Rockefeller Studios, in North America.
Nate originally trained as a classical and jazz trombonist, and pianist, in addition to fronting several bands as a multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter, and arranger. He is a graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), where he trained under the mentorship of some of Australia’s finest musicians, composers, and sound designers.
Currently based in New York, Nate has worked extensively in the theatre and live events industries for the past sixteen years, and his songs, scores, and sound designs can regularly be heard on stages around the world. He has created work for Australia’s premier theatre and dance companies, and arts festivals, with much of his work touring both nationally and internationally.
In 2015 and 2016 respectively, his work on the critically acclaimed Siren Theatre Company productions of Misterman and Good With Maps both earned him a Sydney Theatre Award for Best Score / Sound Design. In 2018, his work as sound designer with Sydney Theatre Company on the two-part stage epic, The Harp In The South, garnered multiple award nominations, including a prestigious Helpmann Award nomination for Best Sound Design, in 2019. Further to individual accolades, Nate has been a part of hundreds of award-winning productions around the world.
On the international stage, Nate has written music for productions in Asia, the UK and the US, and his work has toured across the globe. The UK remount of his composition and sound design for All My Sons, with Street Theatre, was the winner of Best Score / Sound Design for the 2015 Somerset Fellowship of Drama Awards. His celebrated scores for The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show helped smash Off-Broadway box office records in the US in 2016, and again in 2017, and led to Drama Desk Awards and Off-Broadway Alliance Awards nominations, followed by multiple sold out seasons on London's West End. Nate's work on this production has now been heard by millions across the globe, and still tours globally to this day.
Throughout 2020/21, Nate wrote and arranged the original score for the world premier of Disney's Winnie The Pooh: The New Musical Stage Adaptation, which debuted Off-Broadway in New York to critical acclaim, and now tours globally. Produced by Rockefeller Studios, and Disney Theatrical Group, Nate also served as musical director, and adapted and re-invented several songs from Disney's musical catalogue, including iconic songs by the Sherman Brothers.
In 2022, Nate wrote several original songs for Sesame Street The Musical, collaborating with Broadway composers Tom Kitt, and Helen Park. He also created new arrangements of many classic songs from the Sesame Street catalogue, and served as musical director on the project. In 2023, Nate wrote a new musical based on Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit books, entitled Peter Rabbit The Musical, which will premiere in 2025.
As a writer, Nate has written multiple short films, and full-length plays and musicals, including stage adaptations of multiple Disney films, and other notable properties. He has also worked as a dramaturg on the development of dozens of projects for stage and screen.
Nate was a panelist for New York Comic Con in 2022, and for Broadway Con in 2023. He also created, and co-hosted Closing Night: Theatre Therapy, a successful theatre podcast, in 2019, and was featured in Brand X's Artist-2-Artist series, in 2021.
Beyond theatre, dance and live events, Nate also produces music for television, radio, online media, short films, VR, mobile apps, podcasts, and commercial advertising. In 2020, he provided score and sound design for That Golden Girls Show!, streamed online through Broadway On Demand, and also produced a feature film adaptation of Massenet's Cendrillon opera, with the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. In 2021, he provided score, foley, and sound design for Paddington Saves Christmas, for Studio Canal, which streamed globally for the festive season. Throughout 2022-23, Nate produced music for The World Of Eric Carle, a new YouTube series in collaboration with Penguin Books.
Nate also lectures in theatre production, technical audio and sound design. He has taught, supervised, and mentored students at NIDA, UTS, AIM Dramatic Arts, AFTT, Excelsior College and Wesley Institute, as well as providing consultation and technical / design support for production companies, theatrical venues and education programs across Sydney and beyond. As well as an educator, Nate has also been an active advocate for the arts, particular for composer and sound designers in Australia, and has undertaken extensive advocacy work in this area.
Nate was a recipient of an individual Australia Council ArtStart Grant for 2013, and a Mike Walsh Fellowship in 2019. He is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild.
Photos
Connor Delves as Cadel Evans
Connor Delves as Cadel Evans
Connor Delves as Cadel Evans
Connor Delves as Cadel Evans
Connor Delves as Cadel Evans
Multimedia
Articles
CADEL: Lungs On Legs to be Presented at Edinburgh Fringe 2025
The grit, gears and glory of the most challenging road race on earth rides into Edinburgh for Fringe 2025. CADEL: Lungs On Legs, is a new play co-written and performed by Australian-born, New York-based Connor Delves that puts audiences at the heart of the Tour de France to experience the highs and lows of the epic true story of Cadel Evans.
Connor, who co-wrote the play with Edinburgh playwright Steve McMahon, performs this grueling solo show, pedaling for an hour from the saddle of the same BMC bicycle that Evans rode to victory in the 2011 race. Connor says: 'CADEL: Lungs on Legs is a gripping ride through the sacrifices, heartaches, and sheer determination it takes to conquer cycling's ultimate prize. Cycling is in my blood and the play brings together my passion for the sport with my theatrical career.'
Additionally, 'voice of the Tour de France' the legendary commentator Phil Liggett, whose 2011 commentary is a major feature of the play will be there in person on the opening night to give the show a good send off.
Connor grew up in Perth, Australia where his parents owned a bike shop, and his father even competed in the same 1996 mountain biking world cup with Cadel Evans. The former Tour de France winner is fully supportive of the show, saying: 'I have always been aware of the drama, thrill and often suspense of cycling, especially the Tour de France. Connor's vision for this show is bold and exciting, I'm thrilled to be involved from the start, and I'm deeply honored that an Australian artist has been inspired to bring my story to life for audiences worldwide.' Connor, who performed at the Fringe in 2024 in the horror musical, The Bloody Ballad of Bette Davis, has been training with sponsors Wahoo Fitness, Prime Train and Eternal for the physically demanding role since January. He says: 'The Fringe is also a marathon of endurance and I'm looking forward to bringing CADEL: Lungs on Legs to Edinburgh for its world premiere.' The play is directed by Mark Barford and co-produced by Piper Theatre Productions and Rachael Jones and Connor Delves, in association with Adam and Vivienne Edwards, Bruce Goldman, George Weinhouse, Ticking Clock Theatre and Ozgur Akdeniz
The play comes hot on the wheels of this year's Tour de France which takes place in July 2025 and offers a preview of the thrills and excitement that will come to Edinburgh with the official Tour de France 'Grand Depart' taking place in the city in 2027.
Piper Theatre's Alumni-Led REWIND FESTIVAL To Debut This June
For 25 summers, Piper Theatre Productions has turned Brooklyn's parks, playgrounds, and gymnasiums into stages of wonder-crafting wild-hearted, sweat-streaked, and fiercely original theater for and with young people, new playwrights, and emerging artists. Founded in 2000 by Artistic Director John P. McEneny, Piper has grown into a crucible for emerging voices, bold experiments, and unforgettable summers. This anniversary season is more than a milestone-it's a handoff. The artists leading Rewind Festival 2025 were once the kids in the wings. Now they return, not to look back, but to push forward-with new musicals, soul-deep plays, and a raw, riotous energy that feels unmistakably Piper.
Piper Theatre Awards 2025 "Musicals Now Prize" to Composer James Steinman Gordon for Beanstalk: Ionu? and the Sânziana Flower
Piper Theatre Productions has named ames Steinman-Gordon as the recipient of this year's Musicals Now Prize, a $2,000 commission awarded to an emerging composer creating bold new musical work for young audiences. James will compose the original score for Beanstalk: Ionu? and the Sânziana Flower, a lyrical Romanian folk fantasy written by Tiberiu Gavris and directed by Bailey Nassetta, premiering in June 2025 with free performances for NYC DOE students and families.
James began his theatrical journey with Piper at age eleven in The Music Man and never looked back. A homegrown artist of range and soul, he became a beloved actor and, later, one of Piper's most trusted collaborators-serving as music director on Disney's The Little Mermaid Jr., Gorbal Woods, Billy Ragamatag, Colors of My Bedroom, and this summer's upcoming raucous youth adventure, Something Rotten Jr.
Now, he returns to Piper as a composer - bringing with him a résumé as rich as his melodies. A Brooklyn-based pianist and composer, James studied vocal music at the renowned LaGuardia High School for Music & Art and Performing Arts, and later earned a degree in Piano Performance from the prestigious Berklee College of Music, graduating Summa Cum Laude.
He has performed across New York City and beyond with artists including Avangelia, Eugie Castrillo, T.3, Satica, and Latin Diaspora and has graced stages such as Rockwood Music Hall, Public Records, and The Bitter End. As a composer, James draws from modal jazz, jazz fusion, modern classical, and global traditions from Eastern Europe, the Celtic world, and Latin America. He also curates The Brownstone Concert Series, showcasing original works with guest artists.
His theatrical credits include music direction for cabarets at The Slipper Room, KGB Bar, and Club Cumming, and recent work on Bradaret at Brooklyn Art Haus and with The Gallery Players.
Beanstalk: Ionu? and the Sânziana Flower is a swirling tale of enchanted seeds, dragon-guarded grief, talking harps, and a boy who dares to climb beyond loss. At its center: a score built from James's singular musical voice-part fairytale, part fire.
BEANSTALK: Ionut and the Sânziana Flower
A Play for Young Audiences
By Tiberiu Gavris
Original Music by James Steinman-Gordon (Musicals Now Award Winner 2025)
Directed by Bailey Nassetta
In a crumbling Romanian village, young Ionu? dares to climb a beanstalk toward a world of dragons, shadow circuses, and shimmering harps with attitude. Armed with enchanted seeds, a fading lion, and a flatulent fairy godmother, he battles grief, illusion, and a father's myth. Beanstalk: Ionu? and the Sânziana Flower is a raucous, lyrical reimagining-bursting with music, poetry, and fire-breathing redemption. The real magic isn't the beanstalk-it's the show you build when you come home. Stage Management by Kaelin Elizabeth Fuld. Production Design by Lucy Livingston. Featuring: Michael Galligan, Samuel Schell, Justin Picado, Jared Palmer Kirsch. DOE Performances June 17, 18, 20, 24 at 10 am / June 21 at 3 pm / June 25 at 11 am Park Slope Center for Successful Aging / June 27 at 4 PM at Old Stone House.
Piper Unleashes Bold New Work Ahead Of International Premiere at the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
CADEL: Lungs on Legs
One Actor. One Bike. One Hour. The epic true story of Cadel Evans, the first Australian to win the Tour de France, live on stage. The grit, gears and glory of the most challenging road race on earth rides into Brooklyn for two previews ahead of a much anticipated season with Underbelly at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, this August. CADEL: Lungs On Legs, is a new play co-written and performed by Australian-born, New York-based actor Connor Delves, co-written by Scottish playwright Steve McMahon, and directed by Mark Barford. Delves performs this grueling solo show, pedaling for an hour from the saddle of the same BMC bicycle that Evans rode to victory in the 2011 race. June 13 & 14 at 7 pm.
KNOW FEAR: A new musical
by Mark Galinovsky and Lily Ali-Oshatz. New Yorkers are not new to living in fear. Whether it's fear of coming up with rent money every month or fear of staying safe on the subway, we are constantly in a state of high alert. In Know Fear, longtime Pipers Mark Galinovsky (Hedwig, Sweeney Todd, Priscilla) and Lily Ali-Oshatz (Prospect Hill, Peter Pan) return with an evening of song and soul. It's a battle cry, a balm, a gathering. Old fears. New music. A reminder that the only way to overcome our fears is to call them out and face them head-on. Featuring Lily Ali-Oshatz
Jonathan Cruz, Laura Dillman Frank, Theresa Linnihan, Lindsey Moore, Gina Simone Pemberton, Zach Wobensmith, Ryan Michele Woods. Directed by Madeline Wall (Producer Prospect Hill, Costumer Priscilla, Peter Pan, Director, Charlotte Lucas is 27 and Not Dead.) June 13 & 14 at 8:30 pm
CREEK'S EDGE
A new play by Patti Veconi (Nolan's Wake). Set in 1970s rural Pennsylvania, Creek's Edge by Patti Veconi is a poignant family drama about land, legacy, and survival. As the Hopkins-Forton family grapples with economic hardship, mental illness, and environmental disaster, deep rifts emerge between generations. With biting humor and lyrical memory, the play explores what we inherit, what we choose, and what we lose. A grape farm becomes a crucible-and a once-joyful creek, the site of reckoning. Featuring longtime Piper favorites Annie Montgomery (Bloody Ballad of Bette Davis, Splitfoot, Mother Sauvage), Aaron Novak (Moreau, Frankenstein, Hamlet, They Should have seen the Lights Already, Maeve Mollaghan (HarpAlb, DNA), Christopher May (Memory's Kiss, Nolan's Wake), and Zack Palomo (Pinnochio). An elevated staged reading will be held on June 20 & 21 at 7 pm.
CUNNINGHAM PROJECTS
Two of Piper's longtime friends, both of whom grew up in Piper education programs, will bring to life two short plays, The Campaign that Failed: A Theatrical Reimagining of Mark Twain's Short Story by Allison Snyder. Directed by Jessie Kleuter. Six young men enter the backwoods of the American South seeking meaning, valor, and great adventure. If only they could figure out how far they are from home. Mark Twain's satirical account of his two-week stint fighting in the Civil War is freshly reimagined in Allison Snyder's hilarious and insightful new play, and Girl's Room by Daisy Garrison directed by Delia Cunnigham, explores the fragile alliances and fierce loyalties of teenage girls navigating identity, friendship, and survival behind closed doors. Featuring Healy Knight, Clara Napolitano, Georgia Garrison, and Emma Callahan. June 26 & 27 at 7 pm.
JEREMY BITES PEOPLE
is a surreal, high-octane musical comedy about seven teens and one extremely strange boy navigating the apocalypse at a cursed summer camp. As reality breaks, so do their façades-revealing heartbreak, trauma, resilience, and, weirdly, a lot of oatmeal. With razor-sharp humor, haunting ballads, and brain-eating absurdity, this chaotic ensemble journey explores what it means to survive when the world ends-and how to connect when everything else disconnects. Part biting satire, part heartfelt coming-of-age story, Jeremy Bites People is equal parts Lord of the Flies, Dear Evan Hansen, and your weirdest fever dream. It's a campfire horror story wrapped in a hug, with a machete tucked inside. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You might get bit. An original youth production created by and performed by members of our advanced Piper Youth Program, Josh Cantone, Luca Fortuna, and Daniel Herper. Directed by longtime Piper Eva Sheehy-Moss (Wendy Darling, Priscilla, Newsies, Bloody Ballad of Bette Davis). June 28 & 29 at 1 pm.
EDUCATION PROGRAMMING
This summer, Piper Theatre's ambitious education programs (for ages 7 - 17) return with a bold and eclectic lineup that celebrates young voices, reimagined classics, and original storytelling. We will be in residence at P.S. 321 William Penn Elementary School, located at 180 7th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215. Our musical theatre track features Beetlejuice Jr., directed by Ryan Michelle Woods and assisted by Rowan Keane-Lombardo, with music direction by Arial Ubaldegaray; Something Rotten Jr., led by Meredith Hackett and assisted by Janiece Withers, with music direction by James Steinman-Gordon. For original works, Jessica Phillips Lorenz's Robin Hood will be brought to life by director Lindsey Sproul, while Poison Cookies, a darkly whimsical new play by Meredith Hackett, will be directed by Bailey Nassetta, assisted by Ava McLaughlin. Bailey and Ava also team up for a youth-driven staging of Macbeth. Our youngest creators will explore Imagination Stations, where Shel Silverstein is My Friend will be led by Julia McGowan with Ellis Howe assisting, and Puppetry: Saving the Sea, an original adventure created by Theresa Linnihan. It's a season of risk, wonder, and joyful chaos.
Connor Delves Will Star as Cadel Evans in CADEL: LUNGS ON LEGS
CADEL: Lungs on Legs is a new play set in motion by award winning Australian actor Connor Delves. Performed entirely on a bicycle, this one man show captures the drive and determination of Cadel Evans and explores his inspiring true story as the first Australian to win the Tour de France. Pedaling non-stop for a full hour, Delves immerses the audience in the highs and lows, heartaches and sacrifices of Cadel Evans' 2011 victory.
Cadel Evans himself has given his full support to the production, along with BMC, the bicycle company on which Evans rode to victory in the 2011 Tour. "When I was on the verge of first breaking into the international cycling arena, an experienced well known ex-pro said to me; "as a cyclist you are two things, a rider and, and actor. In a race, sometimes you have to act like you are feeling good when you are not, and other times you have to act like you are not feeling good, when you are." Twenty seven years later, I still clearly remember hearing these words. Now, thanks to Connor Delves, professional cycling is about to take the stage." - Cadel Evans.
Delves - whose father Gary raced alongside a young Cadel Evans - has a uniquely personal connection to the story that stems from growing up in his parents' bike shop in Australia, says, "This play feels like I'm coming home to my roots, and bringing the two major parts of my life - acting and sport - together."
CADEL: Lungs on Legs will workshop in New York City in February, ahead of its world premiere at the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Scotland.
CADEL: Lungs on Legs is created by Connor Delves, co-written by Connor Delves and Steve McMahon, directed by Mark Barford, and co-produced by Piper Theatre Productions. Sponsors include BMC Switzerland, Wahoo Fitness, and Prime Train. General Management is by Sterling Paris, Dan Blumenau. Produced in association with Rachel Jones, Bruce Goldman, and George Weinhouse. Publicity is by SO-PR, Judith Ozkan.
Listing information
Venue: Underbelly Cowgate, Belly Laugh (Venue 61) 66 Cowgate, Edinburgh, EH1 1JX
Time and dates: 31st July -24th August (except 12th August) 1pm daily, 60 minutes
Tickets: £10-14.50 concessions available
Box Office: tickets.edfringe.com
Suitable for all ages
