Introducing... Mind The Gap's new show at York Theatre Royal, On The Verge.

IN October 2004, learning-disabled performer Jez Colborne rode pillion with director Tim Wheeler on a Harley on Route 66 to discover America. York-based writer Mike Kenny joined them for a week in San Francisco and a play was born, and now Jez is on the road with his one-man show of anecdotes, interviews, film and original music, On The Verge. Charles Hutchinson talks to Tim Wheeler about the tale of a man, a Harley and his epic journey down the main street of America.

What prompted this once-in-a-lifetime road trip?

"In 2000, Mind The Gap did a stage adaptation of Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men, and we were talking about the notion of the American Dream and individual dreams, and Jez said his dream was to cross America on a Harley Davidson. We all thought 'what a great idea' but then put it to the back of our minds, but it kept nagging us. "Then 18 months ago, we were thinking of staging a piece of contemporary theatre looking at an itinerant journey, and we considered Jack Kerouac's On The Road but there wasn't a stage version available, so we decided we would do our own piece. Ironically, when we went to the John Steinbeck museum, just south of San Francisco at Salinas, we discovered he had made just such a quixotic journey."

How did you and Jez prepare for your 3,000-mile bike ride?

"A long time ago I was a biker, but it was 22 years ago, and my bike licence needed refreshing. So Jez and I went on born-again biker course in Builth Wells in Wales. Jez went on the pillion passenger course to learn how to lean; I did the bike riding course, and driving a Harley Davidson is really like driving an armchair because it's so comfortable."

Describe the experience of riding down Route 66, from Chicago to Los Angeles. What struck you and Jez about the road and the people you met?

"We stuck as closely as we could to Route 66, and it was just fabulous driving through what used to be the main street of America but is now crumbling and lined with ghost towns because most people want to travel on the interstate. The play reflects on what stays and what gets kicked to the side, to the verge, as things change. We met some extraordinary people who wouldn't call themselves artists but were creating amazing sculptures and roadside art. It was great to get in touch with that side of America; it's easy to find the Disney veneer of America but we were able to dig deeper and find something more, and everyone said that freedom was the thing drummed into them from the American Dream. It's all about pushing back frontiers, and what America has done is take the French creed of freedom, equality and liberty and cut it down to freedom, but that has a down side because some people's lives are put to one side."

How did you and Jez and writer Mike Kenny slim three weeks' of travelling into a one-hour show?

"Jez and I had travelled with a cameraman and administrator travelling alongside us in a car, filming us as we went along, and Jez made an audio diary of the trip. Mike flew out to San Francisco for a week, and we ended up with 27 hours of film and a three and a half-hour play! When you're inventing a piece of work, it's a bit like running at a brick wall with your eyes closed but Mike is a gifted writer, able to distil the essence of scenes - and it's always better to have too much material. It's been very different from working with a known text, and, within our field of learning-disabled theatre, this show is a major step forward."

Mind The Gap presents On The Verge, The Studio, York Theatre Royal, Thursday to Saturday, 7.45pm. Tickets: £3.50 to £9; ring 01904 623568.

Updated: 16:31 Thursday, April 14, 2005