Go see: Equations for a Moving Body

When Hannah Nicklin said out loud for the first time, “In the year that I turn 30, I will do an Ironman”, it was the start of a journey that didn’t just take in 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of cycling and a marathon.

Alongside scientists and psychologists from the University of Northumbria, with coaching from Simon Ward, and with help and direction from collaborator Alexander Kelly, Hannah took a journey and reached the finish line of the Outlaw long distance triathlon.

Her account, as revealed this month in the Edinburgh Fringe show, Equations for a Moving Body, explores what it means psychologically and physiologically to train for and attempt a great feat of endurance.

Hannah said: “I’m delighted to be bringing Equations for a Moving Body to Edinburgh, not just because of the rich community of runners, swimmers and cyclists in and around the city, but because at the heart of my relationship with endurance sport is a good friend who lived in Edinburgh, and whose death brought me to the start line of my first marathon.”

Hannah brings her show to Edinburgh. Pic credit: Niall Coffey.

The 140.2 miles might be completed alone, but ultimately, Equations for a Moving Body is a story about solidarity: How the people in our lives contribute to the things we achieve, including friends, families, ex-boyfriends and fellow competitors.

Hannah is a theatre maker, producer, game designer and academic. She has made work for and with Slung Low, Hoipolloi, Third Angel, ARC Stockton, CPT, Theatre in the Mill, Fierce Festival, Forest Fringe, Contact Theatre, Hide&Seek, Coney, Northern Stage, The RSC and more.

Hannah won Northern Stage’s Title Pending award for emerging theatre makers in 2014 and has since worked with a coach, six artists, biomedical scientists and a sports psychologist, Camden People’s Theatre, Theatre Workshop at Sheffield University and Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds, to make and perform work in progress versions of the show in 2015.

She completed the Outlaw long distance triathlon on July 26, 2015. Hannah is currently working on a short documentary and will tour in the autumn.