The Rainbow fish
Marcus Pfister
Ages 5 and up
Ballet for children by Josef Vesely and Kate Watson, based on the book of the same name
Synopsis
Toni, a small girl fish, more precisely a bluestreak cleaner wrasse, attends the great sea party “Deep Sea Dance” for the first time. Excited and happy, she is moving through the dancing crowd lighted by flashing jellyfish. The sea creatures are celebrating and dancing to music played by bands with funny names like “The Blues Mussels”, “Shaking Skates” or “Synthesizing Seahorses”. Suddenly, the crowd parts to make way for the star of the evening: the Rainbow Fish.
The elegant and graceful Rainbow Fish enters the dance floor. His scales are shining in the light of the jellyfish, glowing in all the colours of the rainbow. He spins across the dance floor in swirling movements – nobody can compete with him. The other sea creatures would love to learn from him, dance with him and have just a tiny bit of his beauty. If only he would share his shiny scales with them! But the exquisite Rainbow Fish only has eyes for his own reflection. Becka alone is undaunted. She is mesmerised by the beauty of the Rainbow Fish. With a simple flutter of his fin, however, the Rainbow Fish rejects Becka’s attempts to make friends with him. The party is over.
When the Rainbow Fish unexpectedly finds himself in a dangerous situation, it seems that the tide is turning. Will he wake up and realise that beauty isn’t everything? And will the others be able to help him?
We are celebrating the anniversary of “The Rainbow Fish”. The story of the vain fish written by Swiss author Marcus Pfister (*1960) is known around the globe. The classic illustrated children’s book was published in more than 50 languages, even in sign language. It is loved and admired not only by children: Michelle and Barack Obama read out the story at the 2016 “White House Easter Egg Roll”.
The timeless story is brought to the stage as a spectacular underwater dance by Kate Watson and Josef Vesely. As they did with their successful production of “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”, they open up the manifold world of dance to the youngest theatre audiences. The stage set and costumes designed by Eva Musil bring the infinite depths of the sea to life.
Duration: 45 min / no break
Note: Strobe light is used in parts of the play
Selected performance
Sa 01/21/2023 03.00 pm
Kammerspiele
Audio introduction
von Patricia Pfisterer
Cast (on 01/21/2023)
Choreography
Josef Vesely
Kate Watson
Stage and Costume Design
Eva Musil
Dramaturgy
Anna Lukasser-Weitlaner
Regenbogenfisch
Cassiano Rodrigues
Hai / Gelber Masken-Pinzettfisch
Diego da Cunha
Oktopus / Seepferdchen / Rotmeer Fahnenbarsch
Sveva Gaudenzi
Blaustreifen Putzerlippfisch
Chigusa Fujiyoshi
Clownfisch
Mikino Karube
Siamesischer Kampffisch („green betta“)
Paulo Muniz
König Salomon Zwergbarsch Dafne Barbosa
Reviews
Das Salzburger Landestheater bietet mit dem „Regenbogenfisch“ ein zeitgemäßes Kinderballettstück. […] Die Wirkung dieser hinreißenden Produktion testete das Landestheater bei der Uraufführung am Donnerstag gleich an der Zielgruppe aus: Die Kammerspiele waren randvoll mit Salzburger Kindergartengruppen- Die Fünfjährigen folgten satte 45 Minuten lang gebannt der Wunderwelt des Tanzes – von wegen Aufmerksamkeitsspanne eines Goldfisches.
Aufregend bunt und atemberaubend schön getanzt. […] Die Kinder wurden soghaft in die getanzte maritime Unterwasserwunderwelt hineingespült. Marcus Pfisterers Bilderbuchklassiker darf sich in dieser tänzerisch-theatralen Umsetzung über eine extra Glitzerschuppe freuen.