Fishtank (review)

Théâtre de la Jeune Lune’s original creation, FISHTANK, was an amalgam of the ordinary and extraordinary, the mundane and the exotic. Drawing on diverse styles and traditions such as theatre of the absurd, commedia dell’arte, classical farce, and silent film, the piece brilliantly illuminated the company’s credo: “We are a theatre of directness, a theatre that speaks to its audience, that listens and needs a response.” Founded thirty years ago in Paris, Jeune Lune moved to the Minneapolis Warehouse District in 1992, and thirteen years later was awarded a Tony for outstanding regional theatre. In July 2008, facing a $1 million debt, the company closed its doors. FISHTANK, which might aptly be described as the inspired love child of Jean Genet, Samuel Beckett, Jacques Tati, and Buster Keaton, brought the curtain down on one of the best and most celebrated contemporary absurdist companies in the United States. Through commedia-like physicality and absurdist repetition, the evocation of shared tragicomic frustrations and failures, and the use of water and sand as central images, the production operated from the premise that human beings are helpless—literally and figuratively—without one another. FISHTANK also shed light on the challenging realities of art-making today. Despite Jeune Lune’s luminous history and loyal following, the company known for its artistic daring ultimately succumbed to economic pressures. FISHTANK offered a beautiful, if sobering, reminder that professional artists cannot thrive in this day and age without the support of growing—and giving—audiences.

Stephen Epp, Nathan Keepers, and Dominique Serrand in FISHTANK. Photo: Michal Daniel. Courtesy Théâtre de la Jeune Lune.

Stephen Epp, Nathan Keepers, Dominique Serrand, and Jennifer Baldwin Peden in FISHTANK. Photo: Michal Daniel. Courtesy Théâtre de la Jeune Lune.

FISHTANK suggested no specific time or place other than the present and the architecturally unique confines of the Théâtre de la Jeune Lune—a cavernous warehouse-turned-theatre that boasts exposed, worn brick and high ceilings. Spanning ninety minutes, a series of commonplace events illustrated humankind’s inability to find order and meaning in the universe. In one particularly comedic vignette, Steven Epp, Nathan Keepers, and Dominique Serrand struggled to walk through an airport metal detector, guarded by Jennifer Baldwin Peden in the role of a pseudo TSA agent. Consisting of virtually no dialogue, the scene channeled commedia dell’arte in its physicality and absurdism in its repetitiveness. After huddling to confer about how best to clear this seemingly momentous hurdle, Epp and Serrand passed through the metal detector one at a time, each with relative ease. Keepers, however, failed consistently. He tripped the alarm with each try, exacerbating everyone’s dismay and confusion, including his own. Keepers made a dozen or so attempts, each time removing an accessory or article of clothing that he reasoned might be causing the problem. This continued until Keepers was fully naked; even then he was unable to successfully move from point A to point B. His feelings of isolation, vulnerability, and bewilderment were palpable.

Nathan Keepers, Dominique Serrand, and Jennifer Baldwin Peden in FISHTANK. Photo: Michal Daniel. Courtesy Théâtre de la Jeune Lune.

Characters in FISHTANK experienced a variety of tragicomic frustrations and failures. Epp grew morally disillusioned in a scene where he could not find his wallet—even though it was located on his person. Serrand dialed a telephone operator in search of information, but could not navigate the automated operator’s instructions. The common thread running through FISHTANK was the sense of human beings literally going through motions, trying to accomplish something—anything—only to fail routinely. The universe, rendered here as a repetitive series of ordinary actions that cause complete human befuddlement, is impersonal, lonely, cruel, and unfeeling—hallmarks of absurdism. Yet the characters find comfort and reassurance simply by being in the...