Show artwork for Audience Review | Marlin

Audience Review | Marlin

Marlin, our co-production with Arena Theatre Company, has arrived at the Lawler filling the theatre with fish, fun and foam! We had a chat to one of the audience members, Roy, after the show.

RoyCan you think of 3 words that describe the show?
Dramatic. Spooky. Realistic.

In what sense was it realistic?
One thing that helped it be realistic was how they had the foam coming out. That added a lot of depth because when the Grandpa fell out he actually got a little wet and it made it become scary.

So it really looked like he was in the waves?
Yeah.

And do you think the way the actors moved helped?
Yes and also we go diving sometimes and you see how the fish moves and the guy was moving the fish really well, the Marlin man. It was a beautiful fish.

You liked the puppet?
Yes.

What did you like about it?
I like how it was like one of those wooden snakes and was rolling unlike a normal fish puppet that you can’t move.

Were you looking more at the man operating it or more at the Marlin?
Well, I was looking at the Marlin more but you could notice that he was there.

What caught your eye the most, the puppeteer or the puppets themselves?
Definitely the puppets.

Did you begin to see them as other characters? Did you feel like the marlin was a character or just a fish?
The marlin was definitely a character. It was just being a Marlin, just hanging out.

So Roy, have you seen many plays before at the theatre?
A couple, but not very many. I don’t go to plays as often as I go to movies.

And if you were going to choose a play that you would most like to see, what sort of play do you think it would be?
Well, basically any kind of play that can get me to feel something and that’s what this one did.

What did Marlin make you feel?
It’s kind of hard to explain what I felt but it’s kind of like an adrenalin rush. Like when everything’s just happening and especially during the storm on the boat, that was just the moment where everything went – KAPOW!

So you felt like it was building to something?
Yeah. And then a whole lot of feeling came out in the storm.

Did you sense that the characters were having a lot of emotions as well?
The actor was becoming a whole new person…you could tell that she was becoming the person she was playing.

Could you tell that the lady playing Billy was not the age of Billy?
Yes, not like the person on the poster.

Did you find yourself forgetting that?
Well it’s pretty easy just to forget about it. Everything just rolls along and I just stopped noticing it after a while.

Did you sense anything about the relationship between the Grandfather and Granddaughter?
Well, they kind of went on a character building experience together and got to know each other better, but at first the Grandpa is reluctant towards Billy but then they get closer at the end.

Because they’ve really been forced together by life circumstances haven’t they? They didn’t really choose to live together. Were there parts of the set that you enjoyed?
Well, the set in itself was pretty ingenious. I didn’t think that they’d be able to do the whole play and make it feel like you’d been to different places when everything is just in the one spot, but that’s what they really did which is really cool.

Were you expecting the foam?
No, I definitely wasn’t expecting that, I thought ‘hey, that’s really cool!’

Did the play leave you with an overall feeling? How did it feel to see the journey through to the end?
It left me feeling a bit of a mixture between happiness, relief and a little bit of shock left over from half-Kevin.

Where does the relief come from?
Probably that they got home safely and that the Grandpa is not being too closed off anymore and they’re all good.

So if you were going to tell a friend that you’d seen Marlin, how might you describe it?
Well, I’d say that it actually made me feel something which is something that a lot of movies can’t do and that’s what’s great about theatre. They had a lot of great ideas and put them in and made something pretty special out of it.

Do you think it’s also something parents would enjoy as well?
Yeah, it’s kind of a bit like a Roald Dahl book. I don’t know but I suspect that our parents enjoy reading them.

What would you say was your favourite aspect of the production?
My favourite bit of the whole thing was definitely the foam. The foam was really cool.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about Marlin too – you can leave a message in the foyer at Southbank Theatre after the show!

Marlin Foyer

Marlin is playing at Southbank Theatre, The Lawler until 11 October.

Published on 5 October 2014