Fishin' For Clues

In 2010, Danny Braverman had run out of steam.

He was an artist doing administrative work for the Orpheus Theatre, a charity theatre organisation that he directed. Then, as the story often goes, he had a eureka moment. “My mum was the last surviving relative, so she was clearing out this flat, and suddenly she found this amazing treasure trove.” The flat was that of Ab Solomons, Braverman’s great uncle. The treasure trove was hundreds of hand drawn masterpieces that Solomons would scribble on weekly wage packets he’d give his wife. “I realised that there was stories in there... I kind’ve learnt a little bit about myself through them…” Braverman pauses for a beat, then digresses, “I don’t want to give the game away too much.”

It soon becomes clear that Braverman wants nothing more than to give the game away. He’d hit on something unique and exciting; he’d experienced the lowest of lows, and come out the other side with Wot? No Fish!!. It’s more than just a unique retelling of Braverman’s family history; rather, it’s a portrait of London from the 1920s through to the present day, told through the eyes of a working class family caring for a ‘disabled’ son. That son was Braverman’s cousin; the family was the Solomons.

He continues to give the game away. “He [Braverman’s cousin] was sent away to a mental health asylum, but he didn’t have any mental health problems, he had epileptic seizures. They basically sent him away. He was invisible… I don’t want to give too much away.”

The invigoration that Braverman has for his latest project is clear as day, his excitement and passion for his project growing as the conversation goes on. It’s a conversation that begins with the formal, “I can’t wait to escape this English weather… It’s not that bad actually,” which reveals an admirable character trait of Braverman’s: he regularly stops himself if ever it seems like he was about to seek attention or pity, quickly moving away from topics regarding the life-threatening illness he was worn down with before he stumbled upon the treasure trove. “It’s about the fundamentals of life, really. Love, death, art… It’s a bit like stand up comedy… I can’t wait to see how it’s received in Australia, it’s pretty interactive.”

This is Braverman’s baby through and through, the culmination of a long and varied career – the kind of piece that many artists, in the later years of their careers, fall short of, whether it be through a lack of drive or passion, or the lack of that eureka moment. The conversation continues on its merry way, threatening revelatory postulation before slipping to modest digression; he doesn’t want to give too much away.