A WHIRLWIND of flying props, human puppetry, jazz, movement and emotion blows through Gecko's new production, The Race.

This explosive piece of physical theatre looks at what it feels like to "survive" your life, and follows the journey of a man on a collision course with fatherhood. Preoccupied by life's busy treadmill, this man is trying to reconnect with his feelings when his baby is born.

The show, at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds, was devised over two years by co-artistic directors Amit Lahav and Al Nadjari (who you might recognise as Deidre Barlow's deceased husband Samir Rachid, from Coronation Street).

They initially drew on their own experience of work, fatherhood and survival.

"The irony of you calling me now is unbelievable," says Amit, when our interview coincides with a trip to Tesco with his young family.

"In its very first carnation, The Race was something where we were exploring what it means to survive your life," he said. "Everyone had their own stories and it was really experimental.

"When we honed in on it that went to what it feels like to be a man who is going to have his first child and his experience of bringing that new life and his anxieties, exhilaration and pressures into the world. And we honed further and further into that and further away from the rat race scenario, and focused on this man and his emotional journey."

Most people can relate to the feelings it evokes, he says, the pressures of the family and the realisation that you have responsibilities to uphold.

Although Amit used his own experiences as a launch pad, he did not feel the same burdens before his own children were born.

"I felt very excited and quite relaxed about it," he said. "I was scared in ways that are probably quite natural in terms of this is it and life will be changed forever.

"I think the man in the show really worries about what it will mean to no longer be a man, or the man he's supposed to be."

Audiences tend to feel exhausted or exhilarated by the end of the show, says Amit. And they are not the only ones. The energetic shows demands a high level of fitness from the performers.

"It's like watching five athletes on stage because the show requires absolute athleticism," he said.

"The show ends with us running for seven minutes, which at the end of a show isn't easy."

It is essentially a show for adults, he says, at it deals with adult themes, but the spectacle would fuel the imagination of children, especially those over ten.

"It's an absolutely brilliant show. I think it's explosive and brilliant and imaginative and the audience can completely fly. It's a beautiful thing and I'm proud to have done it."


The Race, West Yorkshire Playhouse, May 1 to 5, 7.45pm. Tickets £10.50 to £15. Box Office: 0113 2137700.