Fish | Boy

Anna Sokolova
5 days ago
2 min read

Brand X Productions Inc, Sydney, 28-29 August 2026

The review

“Fish|Boy” is a work in development, presented by clown mime duo Will Bartolo & Rae Colquhoun-Fairweather. Last year RaeAndWill won hearts with their first major work “Masterpiece”, which travelled to Sydney and Adelaide, and is now being prepared for a regional tour.

“Fish|Boy” is a clever, tender but firm-core story about loneliness and friendship. Full of wonderful artful details, this show is comforting, calming, funny, witty and unique. Will Bartolo and Rae Colquhoun-Fairweather, dressed clownishly and comically - an old-fashioned suit on a boy and a gorgeous orange and pale blue Fish’s costume - play with objects with a price tag worth just spare cash but with imagination converting them into something finely refined.

Boy and Fish dance with umbrellas in the rain, comic improvised pantomime by Fish, hilarious silent dialogues between Fish and the Boy, everyone who asked to help Fish not dry out - all are pieces of mosaics which gently and unhurriedly un-reveal the story. Interactions with the audience are stated as a warning in the announcements, but it's really an invite; it feels so warm to be part of it.

Inventive live accompaniment on keyboard, accordion, and something small - squeaky or rattling - of raggy tones, dancing songs, and a ton of other sounds created a rich, well-tuned background.

It is a cleverly done story where the Boy is a boy, and the Fish is a fish, the creatures of two worlds who connected but never could become truly each other’s. Loneliness hurts, so even an illusion of compassion and friendship might seem to be worth a lot. This play is very far from delivering a boring morality message. It only drops a good hint of how far the wish of taking care might go if one tries to patch a hole in their own soul, accidentally damaging one who is near.

The full season is expected later this year, and it is very much worth looking forward to. Will Bartolo & Rae Colquhoun-Fairweather are performing partners deeply connected and attentive to each other; their tandem work as one body, that is an aesthetic pleasure to watch.