Review: EDINBURGH 2024: HOW I LEARNED TO SWIM, ROUNDABOUT @Summerhall

At what age did you go to your first swimming lesson? For Jamie, it’s aged 30.

Written by Somebody Jones, the piece explores the relationship a black woman has with swimming, and how she overcomes her fear to access the water. A stereotype sadly rooted in statistics, this piece brings to light a perspective that should be heard.

The solo play is brilliantly performed by Frankie Hart, under Emma Jude Harris’ direction. Hart jumps and dives from character to character. Her charming candour as Jamie, to the tough exterior of her swimming coach, to her sneering childhood friends, to concerned family.

The scenes are punctuated by a fantastic soundscape (designed by Nicola T. Chang) of aquatic sounds, with drips and rushing waves propelling the story along. The name of the lighting designer is not named but their work is a key player in the story too, washing the Roundabout Theatre in hues of blue and purple when underwater. Sequences where Jamie is floating are practically therapeutic when the elements of the show combine and you feel like you are bobbing along with her.

The story is more than Jamie’s inability to swim, it explores the inherent biases we hold and pass onto our families, the grief we can’t let go of, and the extremes we’ll go to for closure.

The show was previously shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Playwriting in 2021, and it’s clear to see why. Dripping with wit and wonder, the transportive tale works particularly well in-the-round.

The set comprises a central island of tiles resembling the edge of a pool, with a few key prompts to forge Jamie’s swimming journey from the swimming pool to the seaside. Those sensitive to themes of suicide may want to give this a miss, but for an excellent hour of honest and heartfelt storytelling, How I Learned to Swim should not be missed.

How I Learned to Swim at Summerhall Roundabout until 26 Aug

Photo credit: Bradley Martin

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