Choosing shows on the Fringe often feels like kissing a lot frogs. The Pool is a prince of a play and production. What is often referred to as a sleeper.
David finds Tina in a local betting shop, they strike up a friendship, and spend the rest of the day together. They share their histories and dreams; they seem well suited and "he saw her and loved her all at once, swore he'd marry her if she gave him the chance."
Leaves on the Track company member James Brough plays David and Helen Elizabeth plays Tina. Both are walking wounded who have found a way to survive without self-pity.
It would appear that this is a play written and workshoped by founders, Gaby Crewe-Read and James Brough. All the monologues in rhyme and the dialogues in prose are unselfconscious and fluid. This play is wonderfully written, delicately acted, and flawlessly staged.