Micycle
Micycle is a comedy about pride, confidence, and individuality. When a young man stands up to his tormentors and holds on to what’s rightfully his, it’s not just his bicycle that ends up fixed.
Today in London there’s only one ride worth owning, only one ride that turns heads, and comes with instant cool. The Single Speed Bicycle. Having saved for months Caspar finally rids himself of his heavy old bike and takes possession of his brand new, super-fly, super-cool, customised street racer. On leaving work early one morning Caspar readies himself to cycle home but is stopped dead in his tracks by a nasty set of rudeboys intent on stealing his pride and joy. The rudeboys nearly succeed in the attack but at the last minute Caspar’s bacon is saved by the body building local florist. Caspar escapes unscathed but is dismayed to hear a loud clicking sound coming from somewhere on his precious bike. What’s this? His brand new bicycle, broken? CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! The sound rips into his soul. Caspar tries in vain to fix it but can’t and trudges through the next day, exhausted, depressed, and barely able to look at his bike. On leaving work that morning Caspar, feeling betrayed by his bike, again bumps into the same gang and this time they mean business. With no muscle bound florist to save him and seemingly destined to lose his beautiful bike Caspar draws on all his strength, holds on tight, and readies himself for the barrage of violence. Eventually the rudeboys give up, kicking out at the bike in a parting shot. Dazed and confused Caspar slowly pedals home. Except, something’s different. The clicks have gone, the bike is fixed, and by who? The rudeboys with that parting shot? Or, were there ever any clicks in the first place? A bloody grin breaks across Caspar face and he rides off into the early morning, justice done, lessons learnt, and pride restored.
Micycle will be told as an urban fable where the audience will meet each character, good and bad, as a child would if it were being read a story. Caspar’s world is almost the same as ours except that there are twists and quirks everywhere you look. As Caspar cycles through his London he passes chocolate box houses, curiosity shops, and dangerous alleys. He sees regal Rastas, modern day Rockabillies, and the Stepford Wives of our day. The rudeboys will have an updated look of the skinhead fashion of old (braces, doc martins etc). The lead will take his style from all his heroes, the legendary Italian cyclists of the 40s and 50s and the kitsch and colourful cycle couriers that swoop round central London today. The scenery will make you look twice with strange adverts on sandwich boards and odd characters in cafes. We will capture the essence of an early morning in London using the special light that dawn brings. Caspar’s cycle journeys will be shot in close up to capture his round trip from joy to despair, back to joy. The world around him will be seen from his POV too. As the clicks get louder so people will look closer. Micycle will look sunny and fresh in parts but also delve into the more magical and mysterious using light and shade thoughtfully in the bike shop and the bar. Special notice will be given to the colour scheme of the film.
Drawing from Tati’s classic “Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday” Micycle will be an almost silent film. The principal focus will remain on the action with dialogue only used in a gestural nature to dress a scene appropriately. This means that every sound from, the grate of the money jar, the click of the bike wheel, the squeak of the bar door, and the sound of a glass being polished will be heightened to add to the atmosphere of the piece. Micycle feels English and pastoral at times but gritty and urban at others. The music will respond to the light and shade of the story and truly ‘accompany’ Caspar as he continues with his day. Caspar’s bar will have live folk music playing one night and rock n’ roll on another.
Extensive rehearsal of with the actors will be crucial in getting the balance right between the use of language and the use gestures to communicate the action in each scene. Equally we will have to work on clear characterisation for each of the roles being played. Visually, each frame will be carefully filled according to the theme of the production so that Caspar’s curious world follows him wherever he goes. Occasionally the blocking and action will be exaggerated to add to the atmosphere of each scene. For example when Caspar serves drinks at the bar the customers will genuinely ‘tower’ over him, or as he cycles through the street on his clicking bike people will stare in an unusual manner to increase the sense of awkwardness that Caspar feels.
