4000 Miles

Leo is Vera's stepdaughter’s son. He turns up on her doorstep, fresh from a cross-country bike ride, at 3 in the morning, when she doesn’t even have her false teeth in. He’s just cycled all the way from Seattle to New York — hence the title of the play, 4000 Miles.

He decides to stay with Vera rather than pitch a tent in the backstreets of Manhattan. Well, fair enough… we should all be lucky enough to have a grandma with a rent-controlled apartment near Chelsea.

Over a couple of weeks of cosy cohabitation, Vera relates family stories to Leo, and reveals she's a lifelong communist. Leo is at first elusive about his own beliefs and backstory, but the mystery of what happened to his cycling buddy slowly unravels.

Playwright Amy Herzog, just 33, achieved fame virtually overnight with 4000 Miles, dubbed "#1 Play of 2012!" by TIME magazine. It’s a family drama without sentimental shtick, exploring compassion, companionship, and our capacity for empathy.

Come find out what Leo's secret is. BYO bike.