WOT? NO FISH!

Year 9 Drama Excursion

Taking a group of year 9 drama students on the tram into the city might sometimes be considered a daunting prospect, but we were off to the Malthouse Theatre and it seemed the tram was swimming with excitement. It may have had something to do with having the day off school, but I choose to believe the students were just looking forward to seeing the play. In keeping with my optimism the students showed great poise and respect on this excursion and we arrived at the theatre with time to spare and with very little hassle. We were promptly seated and then greeted by a tall gangly man, who seemed like he’d never quite fit into a suit. He was carrying a Tupperware container filled with fish balls. We all got to try some, which got me thinking about the title of this play “Wot? No Fish!” Quite clearly there were fish. What was this man up to?

In this informal fashion the play began. This man, Danny Braverman, quite aptly braved the stage alone in front of an audience mostly filled with school students and told us a true story about the double helix of life. It was a story about two men: one who spent his entire life drawing pictures on old wage packets for his wife and the other the man who inherited this lifetime of artworks and now stood before us telling this incredible story. It wasn't long into the performance that the question of the title was addressed through an anecdote recollected from an image drawn by Danny’s great uncle Ab on a wage packet. Danny took the audience on the journey of a lifetime that spanned wars, deaths, births and an intimate relationship, all drawn out by Ab, week by week, without fail, through good times and bad, on wage packets for his wife.

Danny’s storytelling was wonderful, honest and heartfelt. This was clearly a very personal performance with moments of pathos and humour throughout. It is a very difficult thing to hold the attention of an audience of teenagers all on your own with a bare stage and a projector, but sometimes a great story told well is all you need. The students really enjoyed the play and as an example of non-naturalism (the topic they were studying) they would have gathered some useful information as well.

Steve Varley

Student Teacher Intern