Swallow The Lake

Joanna and Joseph have just relocated to a quiet town in Essex with their young children. When they host their first dinner party in their new home, an old story resurfaces – along with a word that never should have been said. What follows is a rupture. A single moment reverberates through years of trust, affection, and silence, shaking the very foundation of their relationship.

In the wreckage, we are pulled back – back to their first meeting, to a shared childhood shaped by army barracks and English hillsides. Together, we march through memory and time, tracing the thread of their connection from innocence through complexity, loyalty, love and all that lies between.

Can a lifelong friendship survive the cracks in the country that raised it?

This world premiere production is in association with HighTide. Developed during the Mercury Playwrights programme in collaboration with Paines Plough’s Tour the Writer, this new play by Tassa Deparis is in response to the Summer 2024 riots and protests. It is directed by Yasmin Hafesji.