Black Fish
The story held in immigration detention, a young woman and a border officer become trapped in a surreal confrontation shaped by war, memory, and displacement. Blending storytelling, movement, and poetic imagery, Black Fish explores what we carry when we leave home behind.
The war is over. The war is never over. They keep the fires burning somewhere else where we can’t see.
Black Fish is my new favourite show of the festival, 29 shows in.
This show is so poetic. Retelling One Thousand and One Nights in the context of an immigration interrogation is genius. The unravelling of this surreal interview is so gripping to watch, and the stories merging with reality merging with history is done so deftly that I barely noticed the shifts. The repetition, the frustration, the tension pulls us in. Even the temporal jumps, which can be so tricky to do well in a play while still maintaining audience comprehension, feel completely smooth. This is memory play/ghost story/political commentary all in one and not one of these elements are weaker than the others.
There are so many gorgeous and biting lines in this play. They strike a balance between incisive political commentary and artful reflection on identity and homeland—of course, for immigrants and refugees, these two things are one and the same. No line is wasted. I need the script to get published immediately and then I need everyone to ignore me for a few days so I can chew on it.
Having the immigration officer himself be an immigrant, parroting the colonial doctrine to forget one’s history, one’s people, one’s language (so really, one’s humanity), surely the same advice he has tried and failed to take, is painfully realistic and thoughtfully-presented.
The absence of the White gaze in this was so vital. There are no White characters. Lines are left untranslated. The tension lies in the relationship between immigrant citizen and newcomer migrant, both racialized, which makes room for deep complexities that would be flattened had either character been White. At no point did this feel like it was pandering to a White audience by dumbing things down or trying to comfort them. In doing so, it deeply comforted me.
We are so, so lucky to be able to see subversive, original immigrant art in this city. This is the kind of work that is moving the dial forward for racialized immigrant art.
This intense, poetic two-hander about an encounter between a recent migrant and a customs officer may start out as a critique of the Godot-like experience of absurdist circularity that many immigrants face in confronting the official face of red tape, indifference, and bias upon arrival. However, in the expert hands of Saskatoon actors Sima Sheibani (originally from Iran), and Ohad Winkler, (originally from Israel) the conflict progressively deepens into a more tormented, nuanced drama about the struggle of both characters to find a bridge of human connection, hope and communication, however tentative, across the abyss of trauma, personal and historical memory, loss, fragmentation and displacement felt on both sides. The beauty and multi-layered density of the play and performance themselves make this production worth a second viewing. But playing out against the background of recent local as well as national and international incidents, it is undoubtedly also very much a production for the times.
A really beautiful and heartbreaking show about immigration and home. I wish there was a way to show it to every person who's ever told me "Aren't you glad you made it here and aren't there anymore". The connection between the actors is electric, and the staging and choreography are really intricate. It's a "see it again" because there are for sure details I missed on a first watch. Thank you so much to everyone who made this show happen!
What, exactly, is “Black Fish” about? A man driven to insanity by the lingering trauma of war, unraveling under the weight of his past? A woman searching for refuge, though there’s no way to ever truly outrun humanity’s demons? Perhaps Black Fish is meant to sing the familiar melody of losing to a system designed to “bring you success.”
The beauty of this production lies in the interpretation left to the viewer’s own experiences. As soon as co-stars Sima Sheibani and Ohad Winkler stepped onto the stage, the entire audience was captivated. Everything about the scene was beautifully crafted: the frame created by the lighting, the cinematic build-up, and the dive into the characters’ lives. I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat, eager to get closer to the scene, as I imagine many other audience members did.
Everything was intentional. It was a bittersweet reminder of humanity’s flaws, our desire to connect with one another, and the psychology behind self-preservation. People are capable of change, though you can never pull their minds from their hearts. What I admired most was how everything had a purpose. Not a single word was wasted; everything connected in a perfectly symmetrical circle. Every line was intentional and rhythmic, as were every prop, set piece, and movement. There were moments I forgot to blink, so caught up in the raw emotion of the show. It was moving.
If there were an option to rate Black Fish beyond five stars, I would be delighted to do so. While the themes are heavy and laid on thick, the production perfectly portrays real-world experiences for a vast majority of humankind. I hope it receives the acknowledgement it deserves.