REVIEW: BODIES OF WATER by Nicole Palomba at Rosemary Branch Theatre until 23 August 2025
‘Profound, poetic and something quite special’ ★★★★
A black box behind the brouhaha of the Rosemary Branch becomes a sacred space for storytelling with this one woman show by Nix Palomba.
The only set is a box on which the performer, in loose linen, occasionally sits and, a thick coil of knotted rope. This might be a reference to her life on a canal boat, an umbilical cord, silver cord or all three. Rudimentary uses of sound and lighting: the lap of waves or gurgling river; darkness and light are all that’s needed to gently frame this heartfelt, sincere story offered as a gift to the audience.
An unapologetically female take, this intimate one woman show of 50 minutes, takes the painful experience of miscarriage, and creates an enthralling piece of art. Grief is channelled not into work that reactivates the trauma but chooses to share insights and heal through “the medicine of words.” Bodies of Water works like a magic spell over the audience, rapt by the soothing, undulating voice, drawn into the images and feelings being conjured. At the core of the performance is a layered narrative about the sacredness of water, how we connect to it as humans and women and how it’s a powerful force that can take us or heal us.
Written originally as a “prayer of gratitude” because in this case, the water, which is understood as a female force, healed, and didn’t take, “the silent depths of forever is alluring,” Bodies of Water is a beautifully written piece, in turns moving, revealing, insightful and inspiring. The performance, both conversational and entrancing, combines autobiographical elements into a much larger tapestry that draws on literature, archetypes, myths, memories, spirituality, and oral history. You forget this is acting and feel you are witnessing a real life unfold in rich, sensorial detail.
There is a gentle arc picked out in this performance of verse, meditation, and ancient wisdom, as subtle as night turning into day but it’s there. It’s no surprise to learn that this poetess is a bit of a mystic herself. As well as being a trained actress/performer from the E15 Acting School where she now tutors, she is also a tarot reader and has her own podcast, The Sown Podcast which decodes the cards for the tarot curious. Describing the water as a portal, guide, visionary sculptress, “the great mother we all came from “Bodies of Water has teamed up with the Voices of Water Foundation which advocates for the voices and rights of Rivers and Rias.
Profound, poetic and something quite special, Bodies of Water will be coming to a waterway near you soon.
BODIES OF WATER
Camden Fringe
At The Rosemary Branch
Next performances
August 12 – The Water Rats, 9:00 PM
August 23 – Rosemary Branch Theatre 9.00 PM
Reviewer: Nilgün Yusuf
