Never Swim Alone portrays ambition and rivalry taken to their violent extremes, and what better venue than Harvard? Daniel MacIvor's "play in 13 rounds" as it has been called, pits boyhood friends Bill (Daniel P. Berwick '01) and Frank (James A. Carmichael '01) against one another in a series of contests, from mundane height comparisons to explosive verbal sparring to physical violence. The match is refereed by a mysterious woman (Kathleen A. Agresta '01), who, in addition to narrating, also becomes a specter from the boys' past.

MacIvor uses rhythmic speech throughout, as the men play off one another's lines and often recite lines together. With a minimal set, consisting only of a lifeguard stand and two chairs, the scenes are instead set by words, often spoken by the referee. The beach, the setting of a long ago tragedy, is particularly set by the repeated lines "Here is the beach. Here is the bay."

But language plays an even more important role in establishing the conflict between Bill and Frank. Not surprisingly, a lot of the machismo and competition in the play is something we see every day. But Frank and Bill take it to the extreme, comparing the cost of their suits, the color of their socks, and yes, the size of their manly vigor, to put it delicately. More than the language, though, it is the two men's interaction with the audience that makes the play so engaging. They walk in at the beginning shaking hands, kissing babies, trying to win over the audience to their side, although it is the referee who judges them. Throughout the show they directly appeal to the audience as they bash the other's character or tell a secret.

The beginning of the play starts off with a simple height comparison and progresses though pretty silly contests, with plenty of laughs along the way. Berwick and Carmichael play off each other remarkably well, finishing each other's sentences and creating huge verbal fugues. (Kudos to director Jordan R. Berkow on choreographing such a complicated verbal ballet.) Both men are appealing and personable, in spite of their faults and their one-upmanship. But as the play goes on, the verbal spars become far more aggressive as they needle each other about affairs, jobs, and kids.

The most disturbing aspect about fights between best friends, as I'm sure most of us know, is that friends know just where to aim. And Carmichael and Berwick show themselves to be masters of this point-blank verbal sparing. The quick one-liners keep flowing throughout the play, even as the tension increases between the two men. But the source of the hate between the two is revealed as they reenact a scene from a childhood summer, in which a girl-chillingly portrayed with both detachment and energy by Agresta-dies while they race each other to the point, leaving her to drown. It is because of this shared guilt and blame that their friendship has become such a mockery.

In this climactic final scene, the lines are percussive, sometimes startling, adding to the already palpable tension. And a line from an earlier round returns as the men open their briefcases. One man, it was predicted, is the first man and the other man has a gun in his briefcase. It is here that MacIvor challenges us to consider the price of being first. What do you lose and what do you gain by becoming the winner? MacIvor leaves it up to the audience to decide.

NEVER SWIM ALONE

written by

Daniel MacIvor

directed by

Jordan R. Berkow '03

Oct. 12 to 14

Loeb Experimental Theater