Sam Routledge and the inspiration behind Goldfish

by | Feb 4, 2025

Terrapin in association with Aichi Prefectural Art Theater, bring their dynamic and wondrous show, Goldfish, to the stage later this month. The show is aimed at children aged 8+ and their families and is a place where reality and fantasy collide.

 A fascinating process using the materials of disaster recovery unique to each place to create a new set for every performance is a way of presenting theatre that appeals to Terrapin Artistic Director Sam Routledge who says it’s a way to be the most inventive you possibly can with what you have at hand. “And, he adds, “for those things to be objectively useful to the community around you at each season’s end. It has taken some coordination and resourcefulness on the part of the creative team to imagine what these materials and items can become. It does take time to bring together, but that effort is part of what makes the process so rewarding. I’m interested in whether art needs to speak to its public value more by what it does outside of the project itself or whether this is a slippery slope to diminishing the inherent value of art itself.”

A project nearly six years in the making (work began in 2019) came from a desire for Terrapin to collaborate with Aichi Prefectural Art Theater and the artists they work with – designer Ayami Sasaki and Director Kouhei Narumi.  “We wanted to work on something that acknowledged that we are living in a time of increasing calamity and think about what role theatre might play in it,” says Routledge. “Over the six years from initiation to presentation, the work has evolved as we’ve explored these ideas.”

A working relationship that began in 2018, Terrapin worked with Aichi Prefectural Art Theater on the Japanese adaptation of You and Me and the Space Between by Finegan Kruckemeyer and again in 2021. “This was a generous partnership and exchange that we wanted to deepen into a true collaboration, where we developed something together,” says Routledge. “With the support of the Australia-Japan Foundation, we’ve been able to do just that.”

Based in Hobart, Terrapin was established by Jennifer Davidson in 1981, emerging from the Tasmanian Puppet Theatre before it. Routledge explains that Tasmania has a rich culture of puppetry, with artists like Nigel Triffit and Peter L. Wilson working there. “We believe the name—shared with a semi-aquatic turtle—reflects the company’s commitment to touring, taking its home with it wherever it goes, and being where we are needed. These values remain central to the company today.”

Routledge has been with Terrapin for 11 years, focusing on theatre that reaches people beyond traditional theatre spaces—whether in schools, department stores (the company recently created an activation in the Mural Hall at Myer for Christmas), or public spaces.
the company is currently working with Nathan Maynard on their schools touring show for 2026.

A solo puppeteer spins a fable for children. We hear a story of people who get rid of time: no night, no day. This creates a flood, devastating the land. But when two disaster recovery workers suddenly burst into the theatre, fiction becomes fact, and a new story demands to be told.

Goldfish explores the value of storytelling in times of disaster and the role it has to play. As the scenario unfolds, it begins to ask: what role should humanity, and the theatre, play in times of increasing disaster? And will a goldfish need to save us all?  Routledge hopes it inspires conversations about new ways of making, designing, and conceiving theatre beyond long-maintained models and processes.
Says Routledge, “This is a unique and funny work with a lot of transformation and imagery onstage, I think both adults and children will really enjoy Goldfish!”

February 26 – March 2

Goldfish – Arts House

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