In anticipation of Marek Horn’s Wild Swimming, I decided to research past productions to get an idea of its themes and intentions. What initially (and sincerely) started as an academic venture quickly turned to childish glee once I realised that the actors are encouraged to give out sweets, chuck towels around the theatre, and shoot water pistols at the audience. Suffice it to say: I didn’t think I’d see the day I’d get to shoot an actor in the face with a water gun.

Wild Swimming is very much wild. My audience was quite small, and as a first-timer in Pembroke’s intimate New Cellars, I initially struggled to see how the two-person cast could generate the level of energy that I’d read about. My fears were quelled immediately when Scarlett Coburn and Harry Mitchell began speaking. The play follows their characters, Nell and Oscar, who meet on a Dorset Beach throughout several historical periods, whilst never ageing with the centuries themselves. Starting in Elizabethan England, before moving through the World Wars and finally arriving at the present day, the dialogue stays surprisingly modern and refreshingly authentic, a device which I thought was highly creative.

“My fears were quelled immediately when Scarlett Coburn and Harry Mitchell began speaking”

However, this comes with a few issues. The interactions between Nell and Oscar tend to follow the same pattern: crude teasing turns into arguing and Nell has to deliver a didactic speech on why Oscar is wrong or should be much happier, before jumping into a big montage where the actors change costumes, attack the audience with props, and outline what time period the next scene takes place in. This affects the impact of the dialogue dramatically: by the end, the insults lack the same shock, the romantic tension has (mostly) dissolved and the pair's dynamic just feels formulaic. It also bypasses an opportunity for subtlety: do we really have to be told what period we’re in every single time? Could we not figure it out through the dialogue, the historical references, or costumes, all of which are already present?

The play does attempt to resolve this: a brief meta-theatrical interlude sees Oscar almost walking out of the play before Nell drags him back in. Whether intended to be absurd or not, I felt the scene didn’t really work. Nell’s authority in her and Oscar’s relationship is fixed from the beginning, and having her continue as the dominant figure only feeds into the formula which has driven them here to begin with. As such, it feels as though nothing is different between the pair when the plays ends. It’s also unclear how and when the characters break the third-wall: the awareness that they're in a play has not been foreshadowed in their dialogue, nor is it touched upon later, which feels particularly ironic, considering the emphasis the play places on the importance of literature – you’d think that living in a play would’ve been a good topic of conversation.

“A meditation on love and literature with a genuinely inventive use of time”

Despite these issues, Coburn and Mitchell’s performances provide a bundle of delights. Cheeky, intelligent and sympathetic, Mitchell’s rebuttals to his co-star’s verbal attacks (even when the content is a bit weaker) are delightful viewing and his commitment to Oscar’s physicality later in his ‘life’ fuels our attachment to him. Coburn is an absolute tour-de-force, crafting an art out of delivering insults like a teenage Malcolm Tucker, but sympathetic in her concern for her partner; I would love to see more from the pair of them.

Although the rampant energy of Wild Swimming can't quite detract from its flaws, there is still plenty to enjoy here. A meditation on love and literature with a genuinely inventive use of time, the performances and antics make the show a fun 50 minutes, and a great way to start the night if you know a special someone who likes theatre on Valentine’s Day.

A parting note: we Varsity critics are nothing if not upright citizens, but we will be happily tempted to a few extra stars for your play if you tempt us to cookies and crisps. We apologise for any mess left behind in advance.

‘Wild Swimming’ showed at Pembroke New Cellars from Tuesday 11 February until Saturday 15 February, at 7pm. 

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