A Royal Exchange Theatre production

28 - 29 August 2015

Written by Reuben Johnson. Directed by Alex Summers.

Your feet hit the water and hurt; that's how high you are... If you hit the bottom, it's a long way to come back up for air.

With roots as deep as the water that runs beside it, Ordsall has been absorbed by a city of gleaming glass. Once the beating heart of the dockside, a place of neighbourhood bonfires and exhilarating rites of passage, the Ordsall community finds itself drowning in a tangle of political rules and private regulations. But when all the odds are stacked against you, how do you get that community spirit back?

Developed by the Royal Exchange Theatre and the residents of Salford, this site specific production laces together the history of Ordsall, from the back-breaking work of the residents who built and worked at Salford's docks to the current debates around bridge-jumping and open water swimming, DEEP WATER is a modern-day narrative that explores the feelings of individual communities in a rapidly developing city.

I produced Deep Water on behalf of the Royal Exchange Theatre.

Photos by Joel Fildes