pool (no water)

Written by Mark Ravenhill
Liverpool Everyman (10th-14th October 2006)

Reviewed by Colin Serjent

Mark Ravenhill (Shopping and Fucking, Cut) has written another thought provoking and radical work in collaboration with Frantic Assembly, that puts under scrutiny the often-fragile nature and falsehood of friendship.

In a very physically challenging and visually appealing production, which includes a lot of choreography (directed by Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett) of the four actors/performers involved.

Pool (no water) concerns four failed artists who exploit the horrific accident of one of their friends - who has become a major player in the art world - in an attempt to also establish themselves as eminent arts practitioners.

All four of them, plainly bitter and cynical at their failure to make a mark in life, conjure up the idea of photographing their comatose friend in hospital, injured after she dived into an waterless swimming pool in her palatial new home. They want the images of her crippled body to become works of art.

One imaginative facet of the production was the use of two of the characters adopting the role of their comatose companion, who you never see on stage, stretched out on a hospital bed.

A specially commissioned soundtrack by British singer/songwriter Imogen Heap adds lustre to the performance, including a high degree of evocative music.

However, a weak point was the poorly delivered and unconvincing vocal delivery of two of the actors - Cait Davis and Keir Charles - and at times I found it difficult to understand what they were saying.

This review is dedicated to a very special person in my life!

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