Theatre Australia

your portal for australian theatre

Gogo fish - the fossil that changed the world

Wed, 1 Oct 2008, 08:21 am
Gordon the Optom7 posts in thread
‘Gogo Fish – the fossil that changed the world’ by Damon Lockwood is a 55-minute play, presented by the Barking Gecko Theatre Company at the Subiaco Arts Centre, Hamersley Road, Subiaco. The performances are twice daily at 11.00 am and 1.00 pm until 11th October.

         It is 1986, and Zach (Jimmy James Eaton) and Charlie (Cassandra Vagliviello) - two Steve Irwin look-alikes - are wandering through the Kimberly, when they find the remains of a complete Gogo fish that lived 375 million years ago, the evolutionary ancestor of humans.
        Charlie found that by using the fish as a club it acted as a time machine. The harder you hit the further back one goes in time.
       We meet the Clam family and their sexually frustrated daughter. Numerous nautical living things appear as we travel through evolution.

The invitation asked all fossils to join them at Subiaco to see Gogo fish. Although I am now classed as a fossil, I am probably more like the Gogonasus fish’s cousin, Osteolepis from Scotland. Damon Lockwood has blended his knowledge of natural science with comedy to produce this fabulous documentary / adventure for children.

Director, Jeremy Rice, has kept the pace bubbling along. Cherie Hewson’s cleverly devised, bright creature costumes combined with Bryan Woltjen’s (as always) inventive set which transformed convincingly from the desert rock formations of the Kimberley, to the coral reef, home of the organisms. Ash Gibson Greig’s music captured the mood perfectly with plenty of bounce to hold the children’s interest.

Cassie was a superb straight man and feed for Jimmy James’ zany and unique humour. The two captured the audience, and held them wanting more for the duration of the show. Jimmy took us through a couple of dozen characters, ranging from a waving frond, to the WA Governor! This was Jimmy at his very best.

Fun – and education – for 7 to 12 year olds, slightly younger children may worry about words like ‘Nautiloid’ and ‘Placoderm’. This show glowed for the whole performance, great fun and kids loved it.

Thread (7 posts)

Gordon the OptomWed, 1 Oct 2008, 08:21 am
‘Gogo Fish – the fossil that changed the world’ by Damon Lockwood is a 55-minute play, presented by the Barking Gecko Theatre Company at the Subiaco Arts Centre, Hamersley Road, Subiaco. The performances are twice daily at 11.00 am and 1.00 pm until 11th October.

         It is 1986, and Zach (Jimmy James Eaton) and Charlie (Cassandra Vagliviello) - two Steve Irwin look-alikes - are wandering through the Kimberly, when they find the remains of a complete Gogo fish that lived 375 million years ago, the evolutionary ancestor of humans.
        Charlie found that by using the fish as a club it acted as a time machine. The harder you hit the further back one goes in time.
       We meet the Clam family and their sexually frustrated daughter. Numerous nautical living things appear as we travel through evolution.

The invitation asked all fossils to join them at Subiaco to see Gogo fish. Although I am now classed as a fossil, I am probably more like the Gogonasus fish’s cousin, Osteolepis from Scotland. Damon Lockwood has blended his knowledge of natural science with comedy to produce this fabulous documentary / adventure for children.

Director, Jeremy Rice, has kept the pace bubbling along. Cherie Hewson’s cleverly devised, bright creature costumes combined with Bryan Woltjen’s (as always) inventive set which transformed convincingly from the desert rock formations of the Kimberley, to the coral reef, home of the organisms. Ash Gibson Greig’s music captured the mood perfectly with plenty of bounce to hold the children’s interest.

Cassie was a superb straight man and feed for Jimmy James’ zany and unique humour. The two captured the audience, and held them wanting more for the duration of the show. Jimmy took us through a couple of dozen characters, ranging from a waving frond, to the WA Governor! This was Jimmy at his very best.

Fun – and education – for 7 to 12 year olds, slightly younger children may worry about words like ‘Nautiloid’ and ‘Placoderm’. This show glowed for the whole performance, great fun and kids loved it.

crgwllmsThu, 2 Oct 2008, 04:20 pm

Go Go and see it

Thanks on behalf of Barking Gecko for the enthusiastic review, Gordon...although your odd summary of the plotline makes me think you might have gotten sucked into the time machine yourself..! I just wanted to clarify that the beautifully made costumes by Cherie Hewson were cleverly devised by designer Bryan Woltjen, who was responsible for everything to do with design. And we find that kids have no trouble at all talking about Placoderms, Onychodus, and Brachiopods...it's only the references to George Michael or Governor Major General Michael Jeffrey that go over their heads and make us realise how old we are! Cheers, Craig ~<8>-/====\---------
Gordon the OptomThu, 2 Oct 2008, 09:17 pm

oops

Sorry about the costume design, and I was talking to Bryan just before the show. His personal costume design at present is a leg brace! Someone must have said 'Break a leg'

This was the one occasion when the storyline really wasn't all that important. It was so much fun who cares. Thanks for pointing this out Craig. Kind regards.

kerriThu, 2 Oct 2008, 11:15 pm

go go fish

Hi Gordon I think also, Cassie makes the comment that she invented her very own go go fish time machine, not simply found one to use as a club. I dont think that the original go go fish was a time machine. I thought the show was a lot of fun and if the children in the audience were any benchmark at all, Barking Gecko has hit upon another winner. Kerri
Gordon the OptomFri, 3 Oct 2008, 08:02 am

the moral of the story

The moral of the story is don't write a review when angry or upset, as you will not do a show justice.

I wrote this review just after I had found out that my cat, which had been missing for three days, was mauled to death by two dogs down the street. RIP Freckles.

Daniel KershawFri, 3 Oct 2008, 10:45 am

Sorry Gordon

As a fellow cat owner, I am sorry to hear of the loss of your companion. Remember the Cat Haven is always looking for homes for soon-to-be-put-to-sleep cats. Daniel. In Sapa, Vietnam.
Walter PlingeWed, 15 Oct 2008, 10:50 pm

Gogo Fish

My little guy saw the show today and loved it. He had wanted to bunk off school but told me he was so glad he went because he got to see the Gogo Fish! He wanted to know if the Gogo fish is real so we are going to do some googling.
← Back to Theatre Reviews