Writer: Alison Spittle
Director: Madelaine Moore
In a season where theatres all too often fall back on reviving well-known stories and plays, it is wonderful that 
Oxford audiences continue to be treated to something new by the enterprising team at the Old Fire Station. This year, comedian and writer Alison Spittle is debuting Glacier – her new comedy about three women who meet up each Christmas Day for a spot of wild swimming in a local lake.
Over fifteen years, we trace the development of their friendships, their relationships and their reasons for needing this escape on what is often one of the hardest days of the year. This is a genuinely original take on creating a festive tale and brings opportunities to look at topics such as loneliness, seasonal stress and how that impacts on women in a funny and insightful way.
There are a few moments where the humour undermines some key emotional exchanges. This is particularly noticeable during the conversations about being on your own at Christmas and the loss of a parent. Whilst the desire not to become too dark is understandable, there are more than enough laughs throughout the script to allow some of the more intimate and personal moments a little more space in which to breathe.
The cast is equally skilled at handling the rich humour in the writing as well as the emotional side of the text. Debra Baker, Emma Lau and Sophie Steer each create clearly defined and well-contrasted characters. They are engaging throughout and handle the demands of the production with confidence. Never has a cast of three changed in and out of swimming costumes so many times over a two-hour period.
Special credit must go to Movement Director Mark Conway for the handling of the swimming sequences. The Old Fire Station is a compact studio theatre and not a suitable space to flood in order to create a real lake. The solution, no doubt developed with the rest of the creative team (Director Madelaine Moore and Designer Cory Shipp) is brilliant both in terms of conception and delivery. To say more would be to deprive future audiences of discovering it for themselves.
With a little tightening in some places and a little more room in others, this will become a gem of a play that will certainly be picked up and staged by other companies up and down the country. An audience member observed on leaving the theatre that they could see this being adapted into a successful television play. It is festive without being packed with tinsel and carols and has something fresh to say about the reality of what can be a challenging time of year.
For anyone who has had their fill of more traditional offerings, Glacier could well be the theatrical palette cleanser you have been seeking. Kudos to the Old Fire Station for their continued commitment to developing new work each year. Long may they continue to do so.
Runs until 23 December 2023
