This is the scenario. A pool party for eight (four boys, four girls) takes place while 16-year-old Mindy’s parents are absent. Mindy like-likes Cam. Cam like-likes Mindy. Izzy like-likes Cam and Cam also like-likes Izzy. What else could happen? Will we find out who Mindy’s secret next door neighbour is? Will the kiss ever come?!

It sounds like a typical teenage drama but this was anything but a conventional night in the theatre. We, the audience,  come into the theatre to see all the performers sitting on chairs on the stage together with the writer and director. One of the performers stands up and ushers us in to the theatre and makes us sit in the middle to keep things nice and cosy.  The screen behind the performers states that there is going to be a pre performance discussion about the show. This was the first sign that things were a bit odd. I’m familiar with a panel discussion after a play is performed but before…

Anyhow we settled into our seats. and the discussion started, It was ‘chaired’ by one of the playwrights and the director. They said that they were going to talk about how the play came about and the process of development. It sounded interesting.

This, in fact, isn’t what  actually  took place. It turned out to be a mock,  tongue in cheek discussion making fun of this  kind of presentation. The discussion ended up being a bit of a slanging match between the writer and the director as they tried to upstage each other and prick each other’s balloon full of ego.

Both of them shared a dislike for conventional, naturalistic theatre.. The playwright mentioned that  the play was co-written with a precocious eleven year old girl who was nowhere to be seen. The slanging match continued, the playwright grew more sulky and belligerent and what ended up happening was that the director stormed off the stage, then the playwright also left, walking out of the theatre.  It was time for the show to begin. The performers took their chairs off the stage and the show began in earnest- if it can be called that.

The actual  performance of the play Cool Pool Party was the best part of the night. Lots of laughs were to be had as the teenage comedy/drama of over active hormones unfolded.

Things were coming to their natural conclusion when the  indulgent playwright ended up coming back into the theatre and taking over the stage and with an unidentified male tried to tag on another ending to the play. This didn’t work too well and they gave up, This is when the show ended, the lights came up and the audience applauded. The playwright said let’s do a curtain call but half the performers had already left.

Summing up. COOL POOL PARTY wasn’t my kind of theatre. It felt like some young people joining up and slapping a piece of theatre together.

The main thing about this performance is one didn’t know what was real and wasn’t. I think that this aspect of the show appealed to some in the audience which is fair enough but it’s not my ‘cup of tea’.  Were some of the playwright’s histrionics  real and of the moment or were they all ‘plotted’ in the performance?! What about the jousts with the bio box. Were they intended I guess I will never know…

A bit of a ‘twilight zone’ production , COOL POOL PARTY played the upstairs theatre at the Bondi Pavilion as part of the Bondi Feast festival between the 16th and 18th July, 2019