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"Out of Water" By: Zoe Cooper | Review and Analysis
2019 - LGBTQ+ Drama
Confusion, interest, excitement, and understanding – those are the four feelings I had experienced throughout reading the profoundly touching play, “Out of Water”, that turned out to be a symbolic expression of gender, identity, and personal freedom. From the beginning of the play, I was extremely confused over not just the unique formatting and punctuation system, but also the names of the characters. The characters would have their names written with a slash mark and another name next to it – like this: “Kit/Brendan”. And while I had known immediately that choice would have a meaning, entering a play that contrasts so different in overall structure compared to other media forms I’ve read was hard to get past at first. Nonetheless, once I did, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the story, finally (I think?) understanding the purpose of the title of the play, the distinctive dialogue choices, as well as the overall symbolic message that Cooper was trying to be convey.
Starting off, I really want to say just how much I loved the incorporation of a lesbian couple whilst showcasing the issues they might experience. Claire was someone who, as she said, had always been assumed to be straight. She had to constantly come out to people, growing tired each time she did. That is why when assumed to be straight after moving to Kit’s hometown, she decided to avoid telling her co-workers she was married to a woman, pretending she was the pregnant wife to a husband. Her reasoning was, in a way, understandable because not only did she not want to have to come out again, she also didn’t feel fully comfortable in that town.
Zoe West and Lucy Briggs-Owen. Photograph: The Other Richard
It was this sort of weird juxtaposition between Kit and Claire to where Kit instantly felt at home, but Claire felt awkward and uncomfortable. Both women sort of struggled with prejudice glares, questions, and presumptions by those in town for simply even holding hands, but Claire was the one who became hesitant to continue displaying their relationship in public and at work because she didn’t have the preexistent closeness with the town as Kit did; and I understood her. Small towns are not always as friendly and sweet as they appear, with their harsh judgements being brutal to one’s mental health.
Furthermore, Claire was also new in the town and wanted to make a good impression, so she might’ve felt extra pressure. Nonetheless, I completely understand Kit’s feelings in this situation and agree that a simple clarification to her co-workers that her spouse is a woman wouldn’t have been hard. Hiding the reality of her relationship left Kit feeling as though she had no role in the relationship besides to be the man her wife claimed she was married to and having a child with. Pretending to be a “normal” family was only effective in causing a rift between the two when Kit had only hoped this would be their new fresh start. As such, them coming to terms with being open about their relationship acted as the central plot to the story, becoming the overall meaning of the title of the play. Claire struggled to feel comfortable in her roles as a teacher, wife, and mother-to-be, while Kit was having a hard time fitting the role of mother-to-be and wife because Claire’s uncomfortableness contributed to the diminishing of Kit’s roles; both felt “out of water”.
Photograph: The Other Richard
This leads to the next point, Fish. Fish is a non-binary character who frequently deals with being harassed and misgendered due to the town’s lack of experience and education on those exploring their identity. Fish, like Kit and Claire, feels “out of water” because of the lack of comfortability and acceptance they experience. Claire attempts to aid Fish in their journey of identity exploration through private sessions outside of class, but keeps getting intercepted by the teacher striving to prevent the change from happening. Even so, Claire never backs down by standing up for Fish to the Head of the school and protecting them after Fish had pushed Claire, which left everyone to believe Fish as violent.
Claire sees the suffering and tough life Fish endures even though the rest of the school doesn’t attempt to understand them. They all see Fish as abnormal and dangerous when, in actuality, they just want to be understood – they’re the one being attacked and bullied just because they don’t fit the standard role within that town. The Head of the school fought to hire Claire due to her history of creating change in the school, however, the sadly ironic part is that Fish, someone who’s been desperately attempting to be included and understood, is left off the list to join Claire’s class because no one believes in them. It breaks my heart, but one of the deeper aspects of this story that I greatly appreciated to read seeing as it’s a struggle many people undergo nowadays in society.
Tilda Wickham (foreground) and Zoe West and Lucy Briggs-Owen in Out of Water. Photograph: The Other Richard
Water, throughout the story, remains as the overall reference to these characters feeling restricted or “out of water”, but “free” once they got in the water – once they came to terms with their identity for gender and sexuality. My favorite part of all was at the end when the three met at the beach, and Kit and Fish tell Claire it will take months before the water warms up. A way of saying that it may take months, years, or even a generation before acceptance comes, but, eventually, the water will warm up – change will come. Leading to when Claire stated that she wanted to get in the water and start swimming even though she was scared, that was her way of saying she’s finally finding her own peace and acceptance with her new life.
In conclusion, the last thing to discuss is my (possible) realization of what the names with slash marks throughout the story meant, and the overall arching theme of the play. I believe it was Fish, Claire, and Kit all telling the story through their own perspectives and ways of seeing it. “Out of Water” is the story about those three who feel “out of water” in their current lives, so it only makes sense that they would be telling the story to viewers. This leads to the final reason of the play, which is essentially that people will not always feel that way. As Fish said when talking about swimming in the water, the more you swim, the more your “gills” will open up. It was Fish’s way of saying they were finally feeling free the more as time passes, just like the author was trying to convey.
