InnerMission Productions will be presenting the Adam Bock comedy Swimming in the Shallows at the Diversionary Theatre beginning June 4. Swimming is a surreal comedy that weaves in a lesbian commitment ceremony, a middle-aged couple re-evaluating their lives, and a boy in love with a shark.
In a phone interview with LGBT Weekly, playwright Bock explained how the idea for Swimming came to be.
“With Swimming I had the idea ‘What if a guy fell in love with a shark?’” Bock said, “And slowly, but surely I started to build it. Swimming is kind of about the beginning, the middle and the end of a relationship. Each couple (in the play) has one of those journeys.”
Swimming has been done many times since its Boston premier in January 2000 and, while it has been done in Los Angeles and Long Beach, InnerMission’s production will mark its San Diego premier.
Kym Pappas and Kathi Copeland as Barb and Carla Carla
The script has many interesting and contrasting storylines and it seems there is something for everyone to enjoy about it. “I think what helps is that it’s funny and it has a certain kind of sweetness to it,” Bock said, “But even though it’s called Swimming in the Shallows it goes a little bit deeper at times. It’s really about what do you need and who do you need to be if you’re going to be in love. How do you take care of yourself in the middle of a relationship?”
