Wanted: a team of cyclists ready to pedal hard for 80 minutes, while going absolutely nowhere.

Those who sign up for this curious challenge, however, can be confident that their efforts won't be entirely wasted.

Instead, they will help to power an innovative new stage play coming to the York Theatre Royal next month.

'A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction' uses energy generated by on-stage cyclists riding specially adapted bicycles to power all the electricity needed for lighting and sound.

And very appropriate that is, too. Because the play - a co-production between York Theatre Royal, Headlong and The Barbican in London - aims to takes the audience on a 'life-changing journey to confront the urgent ecological disaster that is unfolding around us'.

The one woman show, written by written by Miranda Rose Hall, is billed as 'darkly funny yet life-affirming'.

"Part ritual, part battle cry, this fiercely feminist off-grid production is a moving exploration of what it means to be human in an era of man-made extinction," said a spokesperson for York Theatre Royal.

Now the theatre is looking for local cycling volunteers to saddle up and be part of the production.

"Eight cyclists are needed for each performance, which will run straight through for one hour 20 minutes," the spokesperson said.

If you'd like to sign up, find out more on the Theatre Royal website at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/pedalpower.

The deadline for signing up is Monday September 11.

York Press: A scene from 'A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction'A scene from 'A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction' (Image: York Theatre Royal)

The play was first performed at The Barbican in London.

But while the play itself is touring, the team who produces it is not. Instead, it is being put on in different locations by a different team of theatre makers in each venue.

The director of the York leg of A Play For The Living in a Time of Extinction, Mingyu Lin, said: ‘York is the final stop for this ground-breaking concept of sustainable touring and I’m so excited to be directing our own version of this ambitiously eco-conscious and witty show, that will be made (and powered!) by locally based talent."

'A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction', York Theatre Royal, Wednesday September 27 - Saturday September 30.

Tickets £15 - £30 from yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/