Equations for a Moving Body

It’s both physically and emotionally exhausting to watch Hannah Nicklin’s autobiographical show, Equations for a Moving Body, principally about her completion of an Outlaw Triathlon (aka Ironman challenge) in 2015. Rich with personal and intimate detail about the people she met during her training, the technical elements of the training itself, and the tragedies that befell her, Equations gives us both a bird's eye and a first person view of the land she traverses.

In an Ironman, competitors swim for 2.4 miles, cycle for 112 miles and then run a marathon. When she was 28, Nicklin decided she would complete this challenge in her 30th year. What might have risked becoming an overly scientific study of the methods involved in preparing for an Ironman is in fact an upsetting yet jubilant celebration of human achievement, perseverance and solidarity. What pushes people to their limits? What is the manner by which humans construct and preserve their sense of identity? The answers to both of these debates converge in Nicklin’s nuanced, direct performance.

Its main setbacks are pacing and tone, which remain at a fairly consistent level throughout. Attempting to create a psychogeography of the places she’s lived in is imagistic and helps to construct the identity of this piece, but it’s at the expense of expanding on the moments of human solidarity. Nicklin touches on the raw, base emotions that can only be felt when battling through extreme sports, and though it seems unfair to even ask, more is needed for us to give in and go with her on that journey.