Created in tribute to Newcastle’s Ocean Baths, Meet Me at the Baths treads lightly and respectfully. You are never in doubt as to who the star of the show is.

Performed in full daylight (11am and 2pm), to an audience arranged on the concrete steps overlooking the 50m pool, Meet Me at the Baths spins its tapestry from real stories sourced from the regulars, many of whom have been coming here to swim, frolic and socialise for decades.

From those interviews, playwright Ang Collins has created a patchwork of scenes, some featuring recurring characters such as Shirley, who believes she’s clairvoyant, and Rip, a long-serving lifeguard for whom the place is a paradise on earth.

Meet Me at the Baths. Photo © Lee Illfield

Directed by Janie Gibson, the performers (Stephanie Rochet, Barney Donaghy, Jim Lawson and Katia Molino) don’t so much enter the space as become apparent. Listening over wireless headphones, the audience has to seek them out among the passing parade of locals – teenagers, surfers, gym bros, elderly swimmers, families. It introduces a delightful random element into the performance and reminds us that it is the show and the...