Wot? No Fish!! @ The Reginald

Wot? No Fish!!I’m not much of a crier at public events. Occasionally when something has its basis in how I experience the world I will find myself teary. But seriously, what on earth could I have in common with Ab Solomons, a Jewish shoemaker from London’s East End in the 1920s and why was I sniffling? And why were so many of us leaving with balled up tissues in our pockets?!

From 1926 to 1982, Ab drew a little cartoon on his weekly pay-packet for his wife, Celie. Kept in old shoeboxes … naturally… there are 3000 of these drawings. Danny Braverman discovered his great-uncle’s art works and brings them to the life in his one man show WOT? NO FISH!! The beautifully rendered images chronicle the hatched, matched and dispatched of a long life but there is more here.

We see the area where the family lived from the boom times after WW1, through WW2, peace time and the changing times of the 1970s. The themes of the drawings touch on racism, ignorance, divorce, even sex.

Danny Braverman is a self-confessed schlump. This, he assures us, as he hands out fried Gefilte fish, is different to a schmoe or a schmuck. His grand-uncle was also a schlump and so we enter Ab’s world.

The storyteller uses a table camera to project the small wages packets onto the big screen. When we first see them, the big surprise is the quality of the drawing. Initially in pen and ink, the characters are recognizable, the topic relatable and the detail inclusive.

Sometimes Braverman will bring our attention to one of these details and sometimes he will interpret an image or provide the family background. At times he allows us to linger on the artistry or he will foreshadow what we are about to see. Towards the end, he shows us the date on the back of the envelope first. Ab and Celie are failing.

The final drawing is brought forth with such love and care that we miss his family already. This is a life interpreted by someone who knows and we are guided by a wonderfully written presentation, well delivered.

He is funny and charming and spontaneous and his performance is a masterclass in Yiddish storytelling.
Good storytelling leads the listener to the truth in any matter and well-crafted art leads the viewer to the same destination.

In WOT? NO FISH!! we experience both, and Danny and Ab bring emotions to the surface. I doubt you will get tickets to this Sydney Festival event now but there is a display of the pay-packets in the Seymour Centre upper foyer. Take tissues.

WOT? NO FISH!! is playing the Reginald Theatre at the Seymour Centre until January 18th as part of the Sydney Festival.