The Swell

Go with the Flo

The Swell

by Isley Lynn

OT and Damsel Productions at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond until 29^th July

Review by Eleanor Lewis

A swell is what surfers recognise as the point at which energy from the wind transfers to the sea, causing ripples which become waves, sometimes huge waves.  Such are the waves created by the reappearance of traveller and surfer Flo into the life of her old friend Annie at the point at which Annie is preparing to marry Bel.  So far so possibly predictable but assumptions about love triangles and lots of shouting should here be abandoned because what follows is a gripping, sophisticated, thriller-ish tale about betrayal, self-sacrifice, the pros and cons of the tangled webs we weave and, perhaps arguably, the ultimate triumph of love.  Not your average girl meets, loses and regains girl tale by any stretch. 

The action moves backwards and forwards in time, the younger women moving towards love and their older selves looking back on it.  Ruby Crepin-Glyne as young Bel struggles against becoming a victim of her own beauty, and Jessica Clark plays Flo as the loud friend of everyone, but the least self-aware.  Saroja Lily Ratnavel as Annie is perhaps the most endearing of the three, lost in love but never falling into neediness.  Written as fully rounded characters, they are played as such.

Amy Jane Cook’s minimalist setting in the round with a raised platform and moveable tiles provided an uncluttered space for six actors to play the three characters as younger and older women, those offstage but stationed at corners of the auditorium providing soothing musical sound (Nicola T Chang & Sinéad Rodger) which enhanced the onstage performance and moved the action along in a rather ethereal way. 

The story turns on a superb twist of the ‘didn’t see that coming’ kind, so it cannot be set down here but expert casting and the careful attention to detail from those cast members made an already well-constructed work outstandingly effective.  There was restrained (this is Richmond) but complete audience engagement, low groans and occasionally a surprised ‘Oh!’ at various points.

As the three women meet each other again in later life their complexities and vulnerabilities are played with subtle, effective grace: Sophie Ward’s portrayal of slight physical and mental challenges; Shuna Snow’s fear and strength in equal measure, and Viss Elliot Safavi’s gradual processing of seismic truths all radiate out to their audience and bring back waves of empathy because this is grown up drama.  Human beings are not straightforward and no-one is absolutely right or wrong.  The whole thing is peppered with gentle humour too, humour which, in this case, has left me trying to remember particular salad ingredients since Thursday night’s performance.

This small but mighty piece is a blast of pure theatrical pleasure at ninety minutes. It is expertly directed by Hannah Hauer-King and as such it entertains, provokes thought, raises spirits, and raises a laugh.  Isley Lynn is evidently a playwright to watch and The Swell is well worth seeing.

Eleanor Lewis, June 2023

Photography by Ali Wright