What does it look like to ‘recover’ from long-covid in the depths of climate crisis? How do public amenities, like swimming pools, enable private journeys of recovery? Heated to the body’s natural temperature, hydrotherapy pools are shared spaces for the community. In the company of strangers, the gentle resistance of the pool’s warm water enables exercise for pain relief.
Arising from her honours research into her journey with disability, ‘Warm Water’ explores the vulnerabilities of recovery around others. Juliet Phraser invites her friends and family to join her at her local hydrotherapy pool, and perform together in the process of her healing. Featuring spoken poems dedicated to her caretakers, over the sounds of flowing water, she invites audiences to reflect on their relationship to healing with others.
Performances by Stacey Collee, Lidia Byrne, Lia Dewey Morgan, Benita Beveridge, Beanz Divine, Ziyi Wei, Jacky (ZiZi) Jia, Tracey Brown and Mike West. Filmed in Maribyrnong Aquatic Centre’s Hydrotherapy Pool.