Confluence

The Fish Cabaret

In April 1999, the Dorset Rare Breeds Centre in Gillingham hosted The Fish Cabaret, a pioneering event which brought together, in both performers and audience, a wide variety of ages, backgrounds and abilities. Disabled people worked seamlessly with young and old able bodied folk towards a common end - it enabled people we have been working with up and down the river to meet and perform to each other and an audience of nearly 200 people in celebration of the fish of the Stour.

We had wanted to create some kind of circumstance for fish to take centre stage, for fish forms, habits and habitats to be appreciated from their perspective, to offer a satirical, questioning view of our role in their lives.

Gillingham is known for its fish and its fishing, and Confluence could scarcely celebrate these rivers without paying homage to the creatures which live there, and the people who are interested in them, whose livelihood depends on them, or whose leisuretime revolves around them.

Practical discussions were progressing about the richness of creating some kind of format into which varied short performances could be fitted, which would be sympathetic to professional and amateur players (and those for whom this would be their first experience of an audience) giving room for juxtaposing different musics and ideas, which might broaden the interest of the audience, which would allow development in separate places to be finally brought together with an economy of effort and would also offer the possibility of change and development in the future. The focus on fish offered both a rich stream of inspiration for artists to work with, and an insight into an aspect of river life that people might tend to take for granted.

We were welcomed by Gillingham School, where arts, music and science teachers began to think with us about collaboration, led to a photographic project with the A level students and the prospect of an exhibition, music workshops etc.

All of these strands came together and the Fish Cabaret was born.

The starting point was the Fish Supper. Performers were invited to a buffet of sushi kindly given by Waitrose, music and talks by Sue Clifford of Common Ground and Tom Suttle, President of the Gillingham and District Anglers Association. His anecdotes about the fish of the local rivers and their characters, concerns about water extraction and pollution proved an effective source of inspiration for the artists in the serious business of entertaining.

The Cabaret environment provided an appropriate setting for the exhibition of art and photography from the school, which, along with papier-mache fish made in workshop sessions at the Thorngrove Centre (for people with physical and learning disabilities), contributed to the complete transformation of the space and the atmosphere of the event.

The success of the evening was to some extent dependent on this transformation. The Rare Breeds Centre offered effectively two rooms, separated by a wall broken by wide double doors. This was the basic space to be transformed into our performance area. The smaller room became a changing room and 'green room' combined, the double doors gave onto the 'stage' designed in three linked parts to allow the different acts their own preparation and performance areas. A considerable amount of work was necessary to build and 'dress' these to make them workable performance space. Much of the design was the result of voluntary effort, but professional staging services were needed, scaffolding, stage blocks as well as lighting and sound systems needed to be bought in. We were also lucky to gain the free services of Gary Fraser over three days, as stage manager.

The results were important because we succeeded in creating an atmosphere and a complicated but smooth running show which itself demonstrated how these things can be achieved and gave some of our co-workers ideas and methods for use elsewhere.

Encouragingly, we were also able to engage local tradespeople whose livelihood derives from the river. Fishmonger Robert Nurden performed several songs, and was featured on local radio publicising the event. Chris Woods of Mere Fish Farm provided a fish barbecue for the evening, and added to the spirit of the occasion by running a Guess the Weight of the Fish competition. The Rare Breeds Centre itself was very accommodating in providing the space and bar, and advising on seating provision and suppliers. Also, Smith's the Baker from Gillingham and Shaftesbury provided vegetarian food.

The Wincanton Jazz a-capella group, came together directly as a result of the work of Helen Porter. They sang popular favourites such as The Three Little Fishes and A Little Fish in a Big Pond. This group would evolve into Shades of Blue under Helen's direction.

Residents of the Thorngrove Centre, for people with physical and learning disabilities, with whom Helen Porter had spent several workshop sessions, appeared as The Fishmongers to sing a new song of their own called The Trout Chorus, in which they were accompanied by the Wincanton Jazz a capella group, and Alan Glide of the Mere Drama Society. They also aided the transformation of the space, providing papier mache fish created in workshop with artist Peter Ursem.

The programme was hosted by Confluence's development officer Darren Giddings, who introduced a 'fish limerick' competition during the evening in order to draw the audience into an active engagement with the subject and the spirit of the event. Many of the results (of predictably variable quality) were read out between acts. They proved very popular and engaging, were featured in Confluence News.

The event was typified, in all of its participants (both on stage and behind the scenes) and audience, by a willingness to explore the extraordinary, and to accommodate its possibilities creatively and inventively. The media response, before and afterwards was very interested and generous, the audience and performers feedback was positive, even effusive.

Karen Wimhurst worked with Gillingham School Jazz Band (see Schools) and also with the dancer Paris Brownlie and two of her pupils on some fishy dances. Having met Les Jenkinson through playing with Crown Jazz in Shaftesbury, we asked him if he would like to come up with a piece for Paris. Les is an octogenarian who has played jazz violin throughout his life. He wove together a series of musical ideas for Paris to enact the journey of a trout from freedom to the rod to final escape. The cellist Robin Mason and Karen worked with Paris and her pupils on dances called Pike and Grayling. There is very little opportunity for dancers to work with live musicians so the rehearsal process was a really unique experience for the teenage girls. Karen also composed the song Gudgeon In Love which was performed on the night by Helen Porter.