Terrapin

Goldfish

Background image: A person wearing an array of fluro orange clothing, goggles and a raincoat is set in front of a bright blue background.
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By Terrapin in association with Aichi Prefectural Art Theater Co-commissioned by Terrapin, Ten Days on the Island, Arts House, AsiaTOPA, Darwin Festival and Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.

When and What

  • Future
  • Theatre

Summary

  • A ground-breaking theatre work in collaboration with Japan’s Aichi Prefectural Art Theater
  • Featuring a unique low-carbon international touring model
  • Exploring the role of the theatre in times of increasing disaster
  • Suitable for children 8+ and their families

Impact

  • Goldfish does not travel with a set: all set items are locally sourced in touring locations, focusing on locally relevant disaster recovery items, and donated to partners at the end of the season
  • This significantly reduces the carbon impact of touring the work and supports service delivery organisations
  • Goldfish is a cross-cultural collaboration between leading Tasmanian and Japanese artists. Its unique design methodology was honed through field research in Hobart and Nagoya.
Three performers stand closely together in dramatic lighting. One wears a white tank top with blue scarves, looking down. Another wears an orange raincoat with large goggles, gazing upward. The third wears a high-visibility vest and a knitted cap, staring intently.
Goldfish at AsiaTOPA Festival, 2025. Image: Gregory Lorenzutti

Description

A solo puppeteer is performing a fable for children. We imagine a flourishing society that does away with time, ignoring night and day, leading to a great flood.

Suddenly, in the theatre, a team of disaster recovery workers burst in to transform it into an evacuation centre. Among these competing narratives we begin to ask, what role should humanity, and the theatre, play in times of increasing disaster?

Pullout quote

★★★★★ Goldfish is a reminder that even in the aftermath of destruction, there’s still hope – and sometimes, it comes in the most unexpected forms.
– The Age
a shadow of a goldfish is projected onto a blue tarp
Goldfish creative development, 2023. Image: Terrapin

Interested in Goldfish?

Touring Japan and Australia in 2025

Get in touch

  • A performer with expressive makeup and a blue scarf gestures while manipulating a small-scale model of a city with paper buildings and green elements. Behind them, a shadow projection of a larger cityscape is cast onto a screen.
    Goldfish at AsiaTOPA Festival, 2025. Image: Gregory Lorenzutti
  • A performer wearing a high-visibility vest stands on a wooden stage, gesturing with intensity and speaking with their mouth open. They hold a clipboard and measuring tape, with a blue tarp and a white screen in the background.
    Goldfish at AsiaTOPA Festival, 2025. Image: Gregory Lorenzutti
  • Two performers stand close together in a spotlight, holding a cardboard box above their heads. One wears a high-visibility vest, while the other wears a white tank top and blue scarf. Their faces are illuminated as they look upward with expressions of wonder.
    Goldfish at AsiaTOPA Festival, 2025. Image: Gregory Lorenzutti
  • Three performers stand among stacked boxes and supplies. One wears a white tank top with blue scarves, another wears an orange raincoat with arms raised, and the third wears a high-visibility vest, leaning dramatically. A metal frame structure looms above them.
    Goldfish at AsiaTOPA Festival, 2025. Image: Gregory Lorenzutti

Partners

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Major Festivals Initiative, managed by Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body, in association with the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals Inc., commissioned by Ten Days on the Island, Aichi Prefectural Art Theater, Terrapin, City of Melbourne through Arts House, Asia TOPA, Darwin Festival and Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.

Terrapin is assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia and through Arts Tasmania by the Minister for the Arts. Goldfish’s development is supported by the Australian Government through the Australia-Japan Foundation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

  • Supported by
  • Commissioners
  • Tasmanian charity partner

Terrapin

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© Terrapin 2025