Pool Play 2.0 NYC Reviews and Tickets

74%

(5 Reviews)

Positive

60%

Mixed

40%

Negative

Members say

Clever, Entertaining, Delightful, Ambitious, Quirky

About the Show

This is Not a Theater Company presents a revised version of its 2014 site-specific performance piece, which takes place entirely in an actual swimming pool.

With new text and scenes for 2017, 'Pool Play 2.0' invites audiences to sit at the edge of the pool with their feet in the water to enjoy synchronized swimming, a race or two, penguins, songs, and an exploration of America's long, joyful, and complicated relationship with water, swimming, and pools.

Member Reviews (5)

Absorbing, Clever, Delightful, Entertaining, Funny

See it if you like comedies

Don't see it if you don't like comedies

Delightful, Entertaining, Thought-provoking, Refreshing, Clever

See it if you're open to some enjoyable pool side vignettes, buoyantly thought provoking , while splashing your feet, forgetting the chill outside..

Don't see it if can't stand water or the sight of a pool, not entertained with short scenes that make you think. Want only a play with a full story.

Critic Reviews (5)

“A buoyant daydream of a show…Sound is the problem I’d most love to see solved...Whether the actors are poolside or in the water, meaning and humor tend to slip away...Bear’s text is often elegantly written, but it’s too dense for the setting. So Mr. Mee’s contemplative monologues are something of a relief…Like any site-specific piece, 'Pool Play 2.0' is partly about exploring the possibilities of a space. This one is hugely challenging, but when it works, unusually rewarding.”
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"Feels less like a play and more like a performance art piece. Don't let that scare or deter you. I know performance art can get a bad rap with some, but 'Pool Play 2.0' is even more successful than the original in creating a sense of community...With heartfelt scenes, songs, dances, and moments of pure joy, the audience shares a communal moment of pathos that is refreshing in this crazy world...It's a spirited break from reality that is smart, refreshing, and extremely well done."
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"The uniqueness of 'Pool Play 2.0' does not end with its nontraditional performance space. The play's text, its staging, and the committed actors collaborate to provide a fun yet thought-provoking treatment of something nearly everyone has experienced: a day at the pool...Though Mee and Bear’s text is supremely engaging, 'Pool Play 2.0' also excels in its performance elements...A treasure trove of off-off-Broadway creativity. It is not to be missed."
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“An evening that is by turns daffy, thought-provoking, and splashing good fun…Mee extracts absolutely giddy, exuberant performances out of all of her actors. This is particularly true with Trinity Bobo...She is a veritable one-woman Busby Berkeley number as she swims in between vignettes to epically bombastic classical music…Each of these tantalizing interludes could be expanded into a satisfying theatrical experience in and of itself.”
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"'Pool Play 2.0’ hits a lot of points—racism, consumerism, environmentalism, the loss of childhood fearlessness—but it hits them well. Its episodic nature lends the feeling that all of life could be captured in this 70-minute play…And, like all of the work I’ve previously seen from this company, it does all of this while delivering consistently remarkable entertainment and brilliantly timed comedy. ‘Pool Play 2.0’ might just be their best work yet.”
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