Fish Bowl is an exceptionally entertaining European mime clowning production, strongly influenced by silent movies style productions. Offering the audience a cross-sectional view of three tenants living in a top-floor house which has been divided into three tiny bedsit-style flats, each tenant is divided by a paper-thin wall, and privacy is rare for each tenant.

There’s the clinically minimalist flat which is all painted white and has hidden extras owned by the Meat Loaf singer’s lookalike character who has an incredible singing voice, flat two belongs to  the hoarder’s character and he may have a lot of stuff but it all appears to be organised and lastly the female touch to the scene with an all pink decorated room.

Comedy runs throughout the performance and it is based on the characters’ everyday lives. From the goldfish being poured down the sink to the rituals of cleanliness.

Fish Bowl offers an 85-minute production which appears to span roughly about three years. Seasons change, building work takes place and the normal day to say bustle goes by.

Each of the characters brings their own touch of comedy to the production. I found myself drawn into their lives and invested in what they did and the relationships that develop between them.

Despite there being no dialogue in English it never hindered the production or made it hard to understand what they are doing and how they are feeling. There are some dark and heart-touching moments.

Laura Léonard designed the scenography alongside the construction designer Atelier Jipanco and the technical team at Le Quartz Scène nationale de Brest. Creating an incredibly clever and entertaining theatre production. Certainly one the best performances I have seen in a while.

For more information about FISH BOWL, Compagnie le Fils du Grand Réseau and future productions at Peacock Theatre Sadler’s Wells please use the link below.

Five Stars.

https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/le-fils-du-grand-resaeu-fishbowl/

BIGRE / “Fish Bowl”
A production by Pierre Guillois
co-written by Agathe L’Huillier and Olivier Martin-Salvan

Production: Compagnie le Fils du Grand Réseau

Co-productions: Le Quartz, Scène nationale de Brest / Le Théâtre de L’Union – Limoges, Centre Dramatique National du Limousin / Le Théâtre de la Croix Rousse – Lyon

Supported by Institut francais du Royaume-Uni. & Lilas en scène – Centre d’échange et de création des arts de la scène

Le Fils du Grand Réseau theatre company is funded by the Regional Office of Cultural Affairs (DRAC – Bretagne) of the French Ministry of Culture.

Acknowledgements: The team at the Quartz, Scène nationale de Brest, Norbert Aboudarham, Claire Acquart, Laurence Breton, Armelle Ferron, Jean-Matthieu Fourt, Mrs Martin, Christophe Noël, Mickaël Phelippeau, Théâtre du Rond-Point, Théâtre de la Pépinière, Lyon Stores.

Special acknowledgements to Suzanna Rosenthal.