pool (no water) by Mark Ravenhill

Alicia Pope
Wednesday, May 1, 2019

pool (no water) by Mark Ravenhill was first performed by Frantic Assembly in 2006. This scheme of work explores the text using both on and off text work, devising, improvisation and practitioner exploration with a view to enabling students to use this play to inspire group performance, monologue, duologue or devising work for any specification at AS or A level. This scheme of work examines the text on a variety of levels; timings for each section depend on your students and their response to the work. Allow students’ response and enthusiasm to guide how long you explore each activity. Plot summary A famous and successful artist invites her old gang to enjoy her luxurious new home and, of course, the pool. The group are back together again but the party comes to a devastating halt when the host jumps into the pool to find that there is no water. As she lies in a coma the gang start to document her, realising that their project could be a very lucrative piece of work. As she begins to recover and they confess about the images they have taken she begins to take ownership of what they see as their work, their project, their potential success. The play is about the ‘fragility of friendship and the jealousy and resentment inspired by success’.