Born to Run

From August 2012

Two women appear and begin to empty a carrier bag containing random pieces of electrical equipment. One of them starts eating a large water melon, the other does a few press-ups while complaining loudly that she has nowhere safe to keep her money. All this took place on the steps of the Usher Hall on Thursday evening; whether it was performance art or the women were clinically insane I'll never know.

Meanwhile at the Traverse Theatre, Simon Stephens's Morning aside, the programme at this year's Festival has been top class and Born To Run is an understated gem.

The story - based on real life - is simple: a woman in her twenties is diagnosed with epilepsy but discovers that she can manage her seizures by the simple expedient of running. In an hour long monologue Jane, played by Shauna MacDonald (Spooks, The Descent), explains how she discovered this, why she has 26 pairs of running shoes, her progression from running round the block a few times to participating in a 110 mile long ultra-marathon, her feelings when she runs and her obsession with running.

There's a lot in Gary McNair's script that I could identify with but what made this piece remarkable was that for almost the entire 60 minutes of the show McDonald was running (and at times sprinting) on a treadmill. A truly exhilarating performance, so much so that when I got home I was inspired to enter the Nottingham half marathon; my sixth of the year and I'm not ruling out a seventh.

Everyone is running from something. The question is - when is it time to stop?

Born To Run, Traverse Theatre, until 26th August