The Swell – REVIEW
Image: Jessica Bell, Alexandra Keddie, Monique Salle in THE SWELL at Old Fitz Theatre. Photo: Phil Erbacher
This intriguing one-act play by award-winning US/UK playwright, Isley Lynn, is one to see with a friend or two because you will want to talk about it afterwards. The Swell is the story of three lesbian women and the various kinds of love they experience with each other.
Bel (Alexandra Keddie) and Annie (Jessica Bell) are engaged and currently living in a beachside house in a small, coastal English town. Out of the blue, they are visited by Flo (Monique Salle), a long-time friend of Annie’s who hasn’t been in touch for a while. Flo is a pro-surfer and a live-wire, and has a reputation for promiscuity.
The three of them talk, dance, and hug, but there are clearly competing dynamics happening within the triangle. At various intervals, the story jumps forward several decades to the three women later in life (Katherine Hopwood Poulsen, Fiona Press, Deborah Jones), two living in the same beachside house, one coming to visit unexpectedly.
The story of the young women is told up to a certain crucial incident, and the story of the older women picks up from a seemingly random point later in life; what happened in the intervening years is left to conjecture…that is, until an astounding revelation is made towards the end of the play.
The six actors on stage are excellent, with the younger women deserving special accolade for being able to deliver laugh-out-loud comedy and heart-wrenching emotion in equal measure.
The set is extremely minimal, comprising only a modular rustic wooden pier, and utilising lights and sound to help create different locations. The Old Fitz’s small intimate theatre serves the very insular lives of the characters well.
With very little happening in terms of action, Lynn’s play relays on its dialogue and the depth of the characters. In the case of the latter, Lynn does very well to develop each character just enough to allow the audience to connect with and understand them.
In terms of the script, Lynn has an acute comic sense and great ability with language. The one flaw is that the dialogue sometimes goes on for just that little bit too long. This is especially true at the end when, after the unmistakable climax, there is a long dénouement that adds little and sucks some of the energy out of the play.
Nothing said above should be a determent to seeing what is ultimately and excellent piece of theatre.
