The Pool (play)
Encyclopedia
The Pool is a play written by and starring James Brough and Helen Elizabeth. The plot follows David (Brough), a Londoner who finds himself stranded in Liverpool, where he meets Tina (Elizabeth). David persuades Tina to take the day off work and the two spend a day in the city together. The play is a mixture of verse and prose. Brough and Elizabeth conceived it while appearing at the 2004 Edinburgh Fringe
. They returned to perform it at The Gilded Balloon
in 2006. It has also been performed at the Arts Theatre
in London and the Unity Theatre
in Liverpool. A film adaptation directed by David Morrissey
premiered at the 2009 London Film Festival
and was broadcast on BBC Two
on 7 March 2010.
in 2006, where Brough and Elizabeth won the Fringe First award for new writing. It transferred to the Arts Theatre
in London's West End for a limited run at the end of 2006, before a three-day run from 24 to 27 January 2007 at Liverpool's Unity Theatre
. It returned to the Arts Theatre for a three-week run from 3 to 21 April 2007, now subtitled City of Culture?
, adapted the play into a feature film called Don't Worry About Me after Morrissey saw it at the Arts. Brough and Elizabeth reprise their roles as David and Tina. It was filmed on location in Liverpool in September and October 2007 on a budget of £100,000. Due to Morrissey's acting commitments, editing and other post-production work delayed the film's release. It premiered at the 53rd London Film Festival
. After the screening, a distribution deal was signed with the BBC for the film to be shown on television. The film was broadcast on BBC Two
on 7 March 2010, and was released on DVD the next day. Although many scenes were filmed around the city, some filming was done on the other side of the river, at Yummy's Cafe, in Wallasey Village, and on New Brighton beach.
Film
Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
. They returned to perform it at The Gilded Balloon
The Gilded Balloon
The Gilded Balloon is one of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe's best-known venues, established by Karen Koren in 1986 in Edinburgh's Cowgate. When a fire destroyed the original premises, Teviot Row House in Bristo Square became the Gilded Balloon's main venue....
in 2006. It has also been performed at the Arts Theatre
Arts Theatre
The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. It now operates as the West End's smallest commercial receiving house.-History:...
in London and the Unity Theatre
Unity Theatre, Liverpool
The Unity Theatre in Liverpool, England, was formed as the Merseyside Left Theatre in the 1930s. In 1944 it became Merseyside Unity Theatre....
in Liverpool. A film adaptation directed by David Morrissey
David Morrissey
David Mark Morrissey is an English actor and director. Morrissey grew up in the Kensington and Knotty Ash areas of Liverpool, and learned to act at the city's Everyman Youth Theatre. At the age of 18, he was cast in the television series One Summer , which won him recognition throughout the country...
premiered at the 2009 London Film Festival
London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is the UK's largest public film event, screening more than 300 features, documentaries and shorts from almost 50 countries. The festival, , currently in its 54th year, is run every year in the second half of October under the umbrella of the British Film Institute...
and was broadcast on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
on 7 March 2010.
Performance history
The play premiered at the Edinburgh FringeEdinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place annually in Scotland's capital, in the month of August...
in 2006, where Brough and Elizabeth won the Fringe First award for new writing. It transferred to the Arts Theatre
Arts Theatre
The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. It now operates as the West End's smallest commercial receiving house.-History:...
in London's West End for a limited run at the end of 2006, before a three-day run from 24 to 27 January 2007 at Liverpool's Unity Theatre
Unity Theatre, Liverpool
The Unity Theatre in Liverpool, England, was formed as the Merseyside Left Theatre in the 1930s. In 1944 it became Merseyside Unity Theatre....
. It returned to the Arts Theatre for a three-week run from 3 to 21 April 2007, now subtitled City of Culture?
Film adaptation
Brough and Elizabeth, with David MorrisseyDavid Morrissey
David Mark Morrissey is an English actor and director. Morrissey grew up in the Kensington and Knotty Ash areas of Liverpool, and learned to act at the city's Everyman Youth Theatre. At the age of 18, he was cast in the television series One Summer , which won him recognition throughout the country...
, adapted the play into a feature film called Don't Worry About Me after Morrissey saw it at the Arts. Brough and Elizabeth reprise their roles as David and Tina. It was filmed on location in Liverpool in September and October 2007 on a budget of £100,000. Due to Morrissey's acting commitments, editing and other post-production work delayed the film's release. It premiered at the 53rd London Film Festival
London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is the UK's largest public film event, screening more than 300 features, documentaries and shorts from almost 50 countries. The festival, , currently in its 54th year, is run every year in the second half of October under the umbrella of the British Film Institute...
. After the screening, a distribution deal was signed with the BBC for the film to be shown on television. The film was broadcast on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
on 7 March 2010, and was released on DVD the next day. Although many scenes were filmed around the city, some filming was done on the other side of the river, at Yummy's Cafe, in Wallasey Village, and on New Brighton beach.
External links
Reviews- Malcolm Rock, "The Pool - City of Culture?", Whatsonstage.com.
- Dominic Cavendish, "Memories to paint the town purple", The Daily Telegraph.
- Fiona Mountford, "The Pool - City of Culture?", Evening Standard.
Film