One of Britain’s most neglected sporting heroines is finally getting the posthumous recognition she deserves.
She may not be a household name, but Beryl Burton was one of the best cyclists – male or female – that the UK has ever produced. Now an acclaimed play about her life, by actress Maxine Peake, is heading for the Rose Theatre, Kingston.
Adapted from a Radio 4 drama by the same writer, the stage play premiered at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in 2014 – the year in which Beryl Burton’s native Yorkshire won the right to host the opening stages of the Tour de France.
Born in May 1937, Beryl was the supreme amateur cyclist; a wife and mother who won more than 90 domestic championships and seven world titles. Her finest hour came in 1967, when she covered 277.25 miles in a 12-hour time trial – a world record for both sexes which stood for two years and remains unbeaten by a woman. She even had the poise to offer a liquorice allsort to Mike McNamara, the leading male rider, as she passed him en route to her triumph.
Belatedly described by the Guardian as “the greatest woman on two wheels”, Beryl continued to ride until her untimely death in 1996, a week short of her 59th birthday. She died of heart failure while out delivering party invitations – on her bike.
For Maxine Peake – whose credits range from Hamlet on stage to The Theory of Everything in film and the legal drama Silk on TV – inspiration came from Beryl’s autobiography, which she had received as a present from her boyfriend.
The result is a compelling piece of theatre. Sad to reflect, however, that today – two decades on from Beryl’s death – women are still not fully included in the Tour de France.
For information about tickets and dates visit The Rose Theatre website.
