Submerged Truths: Fishville at Coventry College

Cast of Fishville. Photo provided by Coventry College.

Coventry College - Fishville by Afsaneh Gray at Studio One - City Campus, 50 Swanswell Street, Coventry CV1 5DG, 7pm, Tuesday 24 March 2026. One night only.

Review by David Court.

There is something inherently melancholic about coastal towns, particularly those caught out of season. Worn down by salt air and time, they often exude a quiet listlessness — a curious tension between openness and confinement, freedom and entrapment. In Saltwell, the fictional seaside setting of Fishville, this atmosphere is not merely a backdrop but a living presence, as integral to the piece as any of its teenage inhabitants. Here, the erosion of the shoreline mirrors something more insidious: a sense that decay begins at the edges and works its way inward.

From the outset, the production establishes an unsettling tone. As the audience enters, mysterious underwater figures sit in silent vigil at centre stage — ambiguous beings who may be myth, imagination, or something in between. They become our quiet narrators, observing from beneath the surface as the story unfolds above. It begins with a striking image: a young boy, Jared, walking deliberately into the sea, not to swim, but to surrender himself to its unknowable depths.

The Cast of Fishville - Photo provided by Coventry College

What follows is a deftly constructed blend of genres. At its heart, the play tracks the arrival of two outsiders, Faith and Connie, whose entry into Saltwell provides a natural lens through which the audience encounters its insular community. Their integration into a group of restless teenagers is disrupted by the apparent suicide of one of their own, setting in motion a narrative that intertwines adolescent drama with elements of mystery and folklore. The sea itself looms large — a repository of local legend and growing paranoia — as whispers of what may lurk beneath begin to surface.

Despite its modest runtime, the production is notably ambitious. The staging is minimal, relying heavily on physicality and imagination, yet it proves remarkably effective. Moments such as swimming sequences are rendered through inventive choreography — bodies lifted, resisted, and carried in ways that evoke the push and pull of the tide. The underwater figures move with a fluid precision that is both eerie and captivating, lending the piece a strong visual identity.

The Cast of Fishville - Photo provided by Coventry College

Lighting and transitions further heighten the atmosphere. Abrupt shifts, punctuated by strobing effects, create a persistent sense of unease, reinforcing the instability at the heart of the narrative. This is matched by a committed, talented, and capable young cast, whose wonderfully convincing performances anchor the more abstract elements of the production with emotional clarity. It's also not without some finely delivered well-needed humour, shining a light into a narrative that could be overwhelmingly bleak and oppressive.

If there is a frustration, it lies only in the production’s brevity — both in its hour-long runtime and its limited run, and a very minor complaint was that occasional audio issues meant dialogue was lost to music or sound effects. However, the tiniest of gripes aside, Fishville is a work of striking ambition and imagination, one that lingers beyond its final moments. It is, in every sense — with no pun intended — a piece of surprising depth. It’s a compelling indication of what this creative team may achieve next.