Two Boys Make a Splash at Riverside Studios | |||||
Go with an open mind to West London's wettest stage show, says Penny Flood
At Swim Two Boys is a story of forbidden love in the time of turmoil, told through dance, music and video. Two young boys fall in love and we watch them as they meet, flirt and consummate their relationship in a lake beneath a waterfall. They’re in Ireland, it’s 1916, the country is tearing itself apart with the Easter Uprising, the rest of Europe is at war and the lake is where they find freedom and peace. Of course the stage gets very, very wet and the water becomes part of the action as the boys play and splash around. (Over 1,000 litres are used in each show, so there is a collection at the end for the charity Wateraid.) The production, which is in one act lasting about an hour, is a four hander. The two boys on the stage (Daniel Connor and Murilo Leite D’Imperio) are accompanied throughout by two musicians (Frank Naughton and Sion Orgon) on a variety of instruments, including accordion, guitar, keyboard, flute and drums. It’s this music that sets the moods – funny, sexy, fearful, horrific, profoundly sad. The music is smashing and it’s a pity they weren’t selling CDs with it. To establish the time in which this is set, the waterfall doubles up as a screen where footage of the horrors of the real world are projected as the boys dance, play and enjoy their time together in front of it. But the real world can’t stay in the background for ever and it slowly, slowly impinges. Their waterfall and lake can’t hide them any longer and they dance and splash to a heartbreaking end. Even if you feel this is outside your comfort zone but you’re open to new experiences, it’s worth giving it a go. It’s not perfect but it’s beautifully done. At Swim Two Boys is on from Tuesdays till Saturdays until February 25 at 7.30pm. Tickets are priced £15, £12 concessions. Riverside Studios is in Crisp Road, London W6. For further information call the box office on 020 8237 1111 or book tickets online. February 14, 2012
January 4, 2012 |