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The Arts Intel Report

A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler

Red Speedo

Finn Cole in Red Speedo.

July 13 – Aug 10, 2024
1 Clarence St, Richmond TW9 2SA, United Kingdom

Just when you thought you couldn’t handle any more Olympics content, there’s more. Sort of. In Richmond, England, the American writer Lucas Hnath’s dark comedy from 2013, Red Speedo, has returned to the stage. The play begins on the day before the Olympic trials. Ray (Finn Cole) sits by the pool while his demanding coach argues with his heartless brother. If Ray makes the team, he will get a deal with Speedo and change the lives of the people around him. But the pressure—and the performance-enhancing drugs found in his club’s fridge—could jeopardize those dreams. “This is a guy whose focus on swimming has left him high and dry in every other area of his life,” Sarah Hemming noted in the Financial Times. Everything moves with Olympic speed in Matthew Dunster’s gripping production. —Jeanne Malle