The notion of a one-person show can go either way. When I’m looking for ideas for a show to see, I usually prefer something with more than one person on stage – I like a bit of dialogue; the way two or more people play off each other. However, I had faith in Bea Roberts. Having seen last year’s excellent and memorable And Then Come the Nightjars, I knew that she could write something that would hold a room in thrall, even with minimal staging and one actor.

In Infinity Pool, Roberts is not only the writer, she is also the star of the show. It’s an unconventional drama – she spends most of the play kneeling on the stage, only semi-visible to the audience. Instead, our attention is drawn to a number of screens across the stage, where the action is played out in an almost filmic way. Roberts tells her story using a computer, a slide projector, and an old-school overhead projector, and almost no dialogue at all. Instead we read and watch the words, images, and video flash across the screens, and yet, by the end we’ve fallen for the broken heroine of the piece.

The tale is Emma’s – she’s a hapless middle-aged administrator for a local plumbing firm, longing for more excitement in her life. Jealous of her daughter’s world travels, and desperate for a lifestyle (and wardrobe) beyond her means, Emma connects with an interesting man online, and has to decide whether this is the excitement she craves – and whether it really is what she wants.

The story is not, I suppose, wildly original; but the originality and heart of the piece comes from the creative mode of storytelling, and Roberts’ elaborate choreography that weaves together the narrative and creates believable and relatable characters in front of our eyes. Roberts never misses a beat, and I think we need to see more of this kind of authentic and original modern theatre.   ★★★★☆    @BookingAround   23^rd February 2017