DEEP END by Armon Ghaeinizadeh and Wesley Babcock (New Story Productions/Fringe). At the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre Pool (750 Spadina). Jul 11-12 at 9:30 pm, Jul 13-14 at 8 pm. See listing. Rating: NN
This earnest and predictable sliver of a play (which clocks in at 30 minutes, not 45, as the Fringe program says) feels like a summer camp writing exercise about bullying.
When popular girl Carina (Alyssa Pothier) hosts an 18th birthday party at a public pool, old high school resentments resurface and it results in tragedy. Writers Armon Ghaeinizadeh and Wesley Babcock have the characters introduce themselves with banal monologues, and their interactions, with one exception, aren’t any more revealing. A line about the survival of the fittest – especially in this context – is painfully obvious.
Since the show is performed in and around the JCC pool, there are sound issues. You’ll also be asked to take off your shoes and walk around in clammy water. Understated performances by Rami Khan and Tatyana Mitchell, as well as some watchable aquatic choreography, help pass the time.
