Airswimming

Backstroke

Airswimming

by Charlotte Jones

Teddington Theatre Club at the Coward Studio, Hampton Hill Theatre until 12^th July

Review by Steve Mackrell

A strange title, said someone in the foyer before the show. Possibly. But it transpired to be an apt choice for this gem of a play where “airswimming” refers to buoyancy and keeping one’s head above water in times of desperation; in this case, a story of two women trying to keep sane after being wrongly incarcerated in a mental asylum.

Airswimming was written in 1997 by Charlotte Jones, prior to her later and more well-known play Humble Boy. However, this earlier play, while less ambitious than Humble Boy, is nevertheless no less engaging. This production, by the Teddington Theatre Club at Hampton Hill Theatre, highlights a neglected piece of social history where a patriarchal society, verging on the misogynistic, often placed women into mental institutions without any plausible reason. Such “crimes” would today be laughable but, at the time, broke the boundaries of expected female convention. In this case, the two women condemned indefinitely to an institution were accused of having an illegitimate baby (Persephone) and for dressing and living like a man (Dora).

The story starts in the 1920’s and thereafter time becomes elusive as we follow the relationship between these two women for some fifty-odd years to 1974. We move both forward in time and backwards – but this is of little matter. The key to what we are watching is the chemistry in the relationship between the two women, the intensity, the tenderness and the love, as the two drastically contrasting personalities become slowly interwoven. At first the more dominant personality (Dora) comforts the more vulnerable (Persephone) but, as the years pass, the roles reverse with Persephone becoming the comforter of the increasingly desperate Dora.

The power of this play is totally rooted in the quality of direction and the versatility of the actors and here all departments excel. The production, through laughter and tears, captures the nub of this tragedy where, even if you were sane on entering the asylum then, fifty years later, all sanity would have been lost and reality replaced by fantasy.

Helping us navigate through the passing decades, and to distinguish between youth and middle-age, there are two actors to play each character. Hence, we have the younger Persephone (Georgia Barnwell) and her elder self (Isabelle Crean) and, similarly, a younger Dora (Amy Domenica) and her elder self (Jane Marcus).

This device of doubling-up helps us switch effortlessly back and forth between the earlier and the later scenes in a way that is both believable and seamless. Most enjoyable is the outrageously eccentric Isabelle Crean as the elder Persephone, who has taken on the persona of her alter-ego Doris Day. Clad in ill-fitting wig and exaggerated make-up, this is a performance combining comedy with pathos. Her song and dance numbers are delightfully amusing – indeed, “bewitched, bothered and bewildered” – and her scenes with the elder Dora were reminiscent of a bygone music hall double act.

Jane Marcus, playing the elder Dora, gives a powerful portrait of a woman becoming increasingly angry with her incarceration, which slowly rises to a crescendo in the final scenes where – no spoilers – but buckets of water and a Moulinex hand whisk become involved. Particularly enjoyable is the scene where Dora takes on the guise of a TV quizmaster to challenge Persephone’s knowledge of Doris Day, simply comedy gold.

Georgia Barnwell gives a tender interpretation of the young Persephone which successfully captures her innocent naivety. A truly delightful performance and especially poignant is her description of having her baby taken away and her reminisces of being the belle of the ball at The Dorchester. Taking on the more difficult role of the younger Dora, the cigar smoking tranvestite, is Amy Domenica, giving a well-balanced and restrained interpretation of her character. Particularly amusing are her frequent celebrations of the triumphs of female figures of military history.

The direction, by Alexsandra Marzocca, is sensitive with the actors making good use of the traverse stage. The device of the elder and younger selves quietly observing each other and, further, interacting with each other, is intensely powerful. The use of the cast in moving the props around the stage also helps with continuity and the miming of the swimming scenes are especially well executed.

The set, designed by Wesley Henderson Roe, is simple but effective with an imaginative use of two sets of stairs which also transform into a diving board for the swimming scenes. Jacob Taylor’s sound design captured the mood of the times with interjections of standard classics like Fly Me to the Moon and Move Over, Darling.

Overall, a very satisfying and engrossing production casting light on a long-ignored aspect of inhumanity toward women. Thought provoking, funny and sad, with four fine performances reflecting the mental strength needed to endure such wrongful imprisonment. A sad reminder of their fate is perhaps best summed-up in the words of the Doris Day classic, Que sera sera, “Whatever will be, will be.”

Steve Mackrell, July 2025

Photography by Steve Sitton