reCyculture started in 2006 as a site decoration installation for the first mass participatory performance Bicycle Ballet on Brighton seafront & the city’s first Car Free Day event.

It was initially called Performance Parking – inspired by the lengths you sometimes have to go to, to securely park your bike. It started as a bit of a joke; a comment on how impossible it was to park your bike, especially overnight without it getting vandalised or stolen. The solution? Park your bike out of reach in an impossible location, at the top of a wall or post.

At one end of the performance site were two inexplicable & defunct telegraph poles. No one seemed to know how they came to be there or who they belonged to, so no one minded when we asked to use them. At the other end of the space, the cliff wall provided a blank canvas for another, hanging installation. There were also a few ravaged planters which we filled with bikes created by local artists in KP’s back garden.

The day started with a crazy storm…

which cleared up in the afternoon for glorious performances & sunset…

All images © Raysto Images / KP Projects CIC, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

A new show by The Bicycle Ballet Company

2026 is the 20^th anniversary of the first ever Bicycle Ballet show, which created a Car Free Day event & closed the biggest car park in Brighton on the seafront. 

Since then, we’ve created 7 shows – from mass participatory choreographies, to roving performance; epic imaginary worlds to revolutionary heritage.  Most of these have had various iterations, been created with & without participants, & toured extensively.

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The Story of a Bike will be our 8^th & probably last show.  It is a story about a bike, told by a bike. A tale of rides & races & daring escapades.

The story is told as an outdoor show by 5 performers.  It’s a dance theatre piece, fusing dance, physical theatre, clowning & humour, with a stunning narrative soundtrack. The show is made for the street, with a 180^o audience.  It’s for all audiences, all ages & all festivals & events.

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This story has been brewing for a long long time…

What tales would your bike tell? Epic journeys & adventures, owners loved & lost; punctures, parts replaced, or cold, scary nights on bike racks?

This gentleman rode it everywhere, endlessly tinkering with it.  He changed the brakes, changed the handlebars, changed the wheels & tyres, painted & repainted it…   But as he got older, he collected other bicycles & didn’t really ride this one anymore.

We can imagine Our Bicycle Narrator feeling a bit left out, perhaps a bit jealous & dusty amongst the new favourites!  Perhaps plotting to run away…

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I was telling someone about this idea; the endless tinkering, replacing parts, painting & repainting & he mentioned the Ship of Theseus.

Theseus was the mythical King of Athens who’s ship gave his name to an ancient Greek paradox.

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Imagine… Our ignored, jealous & fed-up narrator escapes from the shed.  Perhaps spends a terrifying wet & cold night or two in the wild…  And is then captured….

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When bikes are stolen, they’re often stripped down & put back together, repainted & transformed…

-– say from a racer to a hybrid….

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Is Our Narrator the same bike?  Will its voice change?  Will its personality change & what new stories & memories will the replacement parts bring?

And what happens next?  New owners, new adventures?  What happens when Our Narrator meets another Bike with some of its original parts?  Will the original owner recognise it now? How will it reach a happy ending?

The Story of a Bike explores all of these ideas & more. 

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Back in 2021, we received Cultural Recovery Funding & ran a series of R&Ds, including The Story of a Bike.  It deepened thinking & gave us some great images, but probably raised more questions that it answered… & this is where we’ve got to now.

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Next Steps

We’re looking for:

• Partners – commissioning or part commissioning partners to support funding bids

• Collaborators – costume design, writer, performers, narrator, participants to co-create some of our stories & maybe the show

• Touring Opportunities from 2027

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Please get in touch if you’d like to explore developing this new project with us HERE

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The Story of a Bike highlights the bike as the ultimate sustainability machine.  It can be recycled & upcycled over lifetimes; treasured & dumped, yet still able to be revitalised.  It’s great for your health, wellbeing, hours of relatively free fun & it never asks for anything from you.  It’s great for the environment, pollution, congestion etc etc etc & it runs on donuts!

www.bicycleballet.co.uk

Past events Ouse Valley Community Tour 2024-2025

Autumn 2025

20 September, Cliffe Hall, Lewes, 11am-4pm

21 September, Hillcrest Centre, Newhaven, 11am-4pm

Summer Holidays July 2025

4 July, Moving On, The Paddock, Lewes, 4pm – 9pm. Free event with our 360 film headsets

12 July, The Summer Fair in the Big Park (Centenary Park), Peacehaven, 11am – 4pm. Free event with our 360 film headsets

23 July, Community House, Meridien Centre, Peacehaven, 11am – 4pm

24 July, Piddinghoe Village Hall, 11am-4pm

25 July, Cross Way Church Seaford, 11am – 4pm

29 July, Beechwood Hall & Rural Park, Cooksbridge, 11am-4pm

30 July, Cliffe Hall, Lewes, 11am-4pm

31 July, Hillcrest Centre, Newhaven, 11am-4pm

June 2025

21 June, Sustainable Seaford @ Seaford Head School, 12noon – 4pm. Free event with our 360 film headsets

May 2025

3 May, Marine Workshops, Newhaven 11am-4pm

Easter Holidays April 2025

8 April, Rodmell Village Hall, 11am-4pm

9 April, Linklater Pavilion, Railwayland, Lewes, 11am-4pm

15 April, South Heighton Village Hall, Newhaven 11am-4pm

16 April, Mercread Youth Centre, Seaford 11am-4pm

17 April, Ringmer Village Hall, 2pm-7pm

Feb Half Term 2025

17 Feb, Denton Island Youth Club, Newhaven 11am-4pm

20 Feb, Meeching Hall, Newhaven, 11am-4pm

21 Feb, Barcombe Village Hall, 11am-4pm

2024

• 25 May, 11am – 4pm – TLCUE 360 film version as part of Love our Ouse’s River People Tour at The Marine Workshops, Railway Quay, Newhaven BN9 0ER – FREE

• 1 June, 12noon – 4pm – TLCUE 360 film version as part of Sustainable Seaford Fair at Seaford Head School, Steyne Road, Seaford, BN29 1AL – FREE

• 13 July, TLCUE version tbc as part of Peacehaven Climate Fayre at The Hub, Centenary Park, Peacehaven BN10 8RH

Sussex-wide Community Tour 2022-2023

2023

14 February, Bexhill Museum, Bexhill, 2 installations

15 February, Pump Barn, Seven Sisters Country Park, Exceat, 2 installations

17 February, Rampion Visitor Centre, Brighton 5 x 360 film headsets

4 April, The Pelham Community Centre, Bexhill, 1 installation

6 April, Rampion Visitor Centre, Brighton 5 x 360 film headsets

11 April, Shoreham Community Centre, Shoreham, 2 installations

12 April, Southwick Community Centre, Southwick, 2 installations

30 May, The Gather, Beacon Shopping Centre, Eastbourne, 2 installations

21 June, Walk the Chalk Test Event, Seaford Head Barn, 1 installation & 3 x 360 headsets

25 August, Carbon footprint, PAT testing event, Hanover Centre, Brighton, 1 installation

20-24 September, Walk the Chalk (WtC), Seaford Head Barn, 2 installations

2022
17 August, Training & test event & PAT testing, Hanover Centre, Brighton, 2 installations

28 August, Denton Island Community Centre, Newhaven, 2 installations

29 August, Depot Cinema, Lewes, 1 installation

3 September, SEA Hub, Seaford, 2 installations

5 September, Hastings Contemporary, 1 installation

17 & 18 September, Hillcrest Centre, Newhaven, 2 installations24 September, Meridian Centre, Peacehaven, 2 installations

22 October, Hastings Storytelling Festival, Stade Hall, 2 installations

Pilot Tour 2018/19

• 12 October 2019, Brighton Digital Festival Fair #BDF19
• 24 September 2019, Our Amazing Chalk Reef, Bite Size Talk, Brighton Museum
• 17 September 2019, Ships, Shafts & UBoats, Bite Size Talk, Brighton Museum
• 1-4 August 2019, Birling Gap Visitor Centre – info & tickets here
• 21 July 2019, Wild Chalk, East Brighton Park – more info here
• 20 July 2019, Brighton Museum – more info here
• 18 July 2019, St Margaret’s School, Rottingdean Years R, 1, 2, 4 & 5
• 26 & 27 June 2019, The Big Bang STEM event, Ardingly, 9.30am-3.30pm
• 19 June 2019, Hamsey CP School, Cooksbridge Years R/1, 2/3, 4, & 5/6
• 18 June 2019, Middle Street School, Brighton Years 1 & 2
• 4 June 2019, ONCA Gallery, Brighton, What Next? Culture & Climate meeting 9.30am-12.30pm & ticketed 12.30 – 5pm
• 1 & 2 June 2019, National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth, 10am-4.30pm
• 25th May 2019, Hangleton Community Centre for Our Place, Brighton Festival, 10-5pm
• 23 May 2019, Park Mead School, Cranleigh, Years 4, 5 & 6
• 18th May 2019, East Brighton Community Centre Library for Our Place, Brighton Festival, times 10-5pm
• 17th April 2019 at Seven Sisters, Sussex Wildlife Trust’s Barn, 10.30AM – 4PM.  Tickets for the Experience & a range of activities, in 45 minute slots on Eventbrite HERE
• 16th April 2019, Seaford at St James Trust, 12noon – 7pm. Tickets in 20 minute slots, available on Eventbrite & HERE
• 15th April 2019 in Newhaven, at Denton Island Community Centre.  Tickets in 20 minute slots from 9.30-5pm available on Eventbrite & HERE
• 19-21 February 2019, Art Pod, Rottingdean
• 4-7 October 2018, TOM (The Old Market), Brighton Digital Festival

A healthy ocean is fundamental for planetary health & human survival, impacting everything from the air we breathe to the food we eat & the stability of our climate. Here’s a few simple things you can do to help the marine environment:

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If you’d like to do more, there are lots of wider organisations & campaigns you can get involved with, from the Marine Conservation Society & Sussex Wildlife Trust to the Blue Marine Foundations & Surfers Against Sewage, & many many more.

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Huge thanks to our funders & supporters & especially

In 2024-2025 TLC Undersea Experience, an interactive virtual reality enabling users to experience the underwater environment of Beachy Head West Marine Conservation Zone.

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Our Impact

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Learning about the Coast

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Making a Difference

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Learning about the Coast

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Making a Difference

Our Impact

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Have a closer look this is short of the prototype experience, created in 2018:

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The Sussex Blazing Saddles heritage was made possible by a team of incredible people

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Re-Imagining, Re-Making Sewing Workshops

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