Spin Cycles, written and performed by Jamie-Lee Money, explores the many faces of grief and the complexities of coping in a dynamic, touching, and laugh-out-loud one-woman play.

The Johannesburg-born, London-based actor has brought her writing debut back to the South African stage after a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The semi-autobiographical story follows Lolly, a skeptical journalist who begrudgingly attends a SoulCycle-esque spin class as part of a work assignment. Guided by the omniscient voice of the instructor, Monique, Lolly experiences an unexpected reckoning with neglected grief, both past and present, while attempting to find meaning in these inexplicable events.

The play found its beginnings when Money attended her very first spin class with a friend who had found her own solace in it. “I knew I wanted to write something for myself,” she says, having found herself in that tricky, in-between age bracket as an actor. “And I left the class thinking, ‘This is the weirdest, craziest thing I’ve done’. I just thought it was so funny.”

Whether or not you have stepped into a spin studio yourself, you no doubt know the tropes: the impassioned instructors, the thumping beats and pulsing lights, and the rows of stationary bikes topped with people giving it their absolute all—whooping, groaning, sweating, singing—next to people they’ve never met and will likely not make eye contact with after click-clacking, cleat-clad, out of that dark room.

Soon after, Money was faced with two family members being diagnosed with cancer and began reflecting on her own relationship with grief—both retrospective and anticipatory. “I didn’t really know what it meant for the play or where to go with it. I didn’t necessarily want it to be about myself, but I knew I wanted to come back to the idea of a spin class and how we use these things to cope.” 

She began with jotting down episodic scenes, stepping back at times to find the balance between writing truthfully and protecting herself while dealing with the realities of the work. In 2023, Money debuted Spin Cycles at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, under the direction of Larica Schnell, collaborator and co-founder of their production company Two Bits.

“In this first iteration of the show, I had wanted it to be a little bit more removed from my own version of events,” says Money, “You can weave in twists and turns but ultimately you have to come back to the truth.”

Post the Spin Cycles Edinburgh run, Money continued to revise the script, taking Lolly down various avenues and oscillating between stripping back and adding to the original work.

“I was very aware that one reviewer had said that we had a surfeit of ideas but I realised that’s actually what I wanted. I didn’t want it to be this character who was dealing with one thing at a time because that’s not real life.”

And real life is what is at the core of Spin Cycles. With its multifaceted depiction of grief and loss, there is a universality to the work and at least one moment that will resonate with each member of the audience. Between Money’s electric performance, Schnell’s direction and lighting designer, Kieran McGregor’s keen eye, the team have created and captured the bizarre, engulfing world of spins studios while seamlessly juxtaposing the noise with quiet pockets of Lolly’s nostalgia and most private moments. The result is an exhilarating and moving performance that will have you laughing and crying in the same scene, and making a mental note to find your closest spin studio after the show.

The Baxter’s run of Spin Cycles comes to a close tomorrow, so don’t miss this opportunity to catch it before the show’s tour to London and New York.