Gary McNair's drama has nothing to do with Bruce Springsteen's rock'n'roll anthem about two lovers dreaming of getting the hell out of New Jersey.
Saying that, McNair's monologue, energetically performed by Molly Taylor on a running machine, is similar in its depiction of wanting to make something of life before it's too late. Or in this case a life-changing decision.
Having suffered her first epileptic seizure in her mid-20s, office worker Jane trawls the internet looking for hope and discovers it in one woman's posting that running can keep attacks at bay. So begins a journey of personal discovery, as she begins to pound the pavements near her home and office, before upping the ante of physical endurance. This culminates in her taking on the San Antonio Death Race through the desert, where she has come to think and make a decision over her life and health, following news that she could be eligible for surgery.
As McNair shows relations between Jane and her partner becoming strained, and what started off as progression and a lifeline begin to resemble obsession, it soon become clear that far from running towards her goal, Jane is running away from her life. As the running app-cum-conscience she has brought with her reminds her: "Nobody can run forever."
The show is ably directed by McNair, with subtle use of Richard Poet's video projection. While the physical effort Taylor puts in is to be applauded, the emotional journey she delivers is equally rewarding.
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