Ever since Sunset Boulevard’s dead protagonist floated into view in the iconic opening sequence of Billy Wilder’s 1950 film, a drama set in a Los Angeles suburb with a swimming pool as its central feature has carried ominous connotations.
Daddy’s heated pool is set within a contemporary Bel Air mansion, and is modelled on David Hockney’s swimming pool paintings of the 1960s and 70s. It colonises most of the stage. But the play’s protagonist is very much alive, erupting out of the water in Speedos in the opening scene. This is a sign to expect the unexpected in this bold, brawny, flamboyantly theatrical production written by Jeremy O Harris and first staged off Broadway in 2019.
