A glass fish bowl filled with clear water sits on top of a coffee table. An orange goldfish is seen swimming in the water.
Actor Matthew Barker is seated looking up into the distance, Evie Leonard sits next to him trying to see what he is looking at.
Actor Evie Leonard is holding actor Matthew Barker's hands

The Fish Bowl

Theatre and Physical Theatre • Immersive
South Australia

Presented by: Fish Bowl Productions

How does a person with Dementia experience the world? How can we better connect with people in the often challenging environment of aged care? 

This award-winning experimental theatre piece explores communication, ageing, and identity through the real-life stories of people living with Dementia in a South Australian memory unit. “The Fish Bowl” is a metaphor for the voyeuristic, circular nature of the daily routine for people living in aged care and those that work alongside them. The play celebrates the rich character’s you find in aged care, the wisdom they impart, and the ways in which carers and nurses can find creative new forms of communication. 

In 2022 The Fish Bowl won the BankSA Award for Best Theatre and Physical Theatre and the Holden Street Theatre Award.

Presented by: Fish Bowl Productions

Director: Steph Daughtry;
Writer: Matthew Barker;
Performers: Matthew Barker & Evie Leonard.

The Fish Bowl has been made in direct consultation and collaboration with a local Adelaide nursing home, where playwright Matthew Barker has worked and built relationships with patients, families and staff over the past six years. While working as a Carer, Matthew (BCA Drama Centre) has recorded conversations and written down interactions between healthcare professionals and residents from the home. These recorded interactions illustrate both heartbreaking moments of miscommunication, and glowing moments of connection.

Reviews & Fringefeed Reacts