Red Tide: a macabre maritime misadventure

Macdonald Heaslip Hall
February 6–9, 2024

Book & Lyrics by Nam Nguyen
Music by Wilfred Moeschter

One fish, two fish, red fish, dead fish…

In April 2016, fishermen in central Vietnam wake up to the disturbing sight of 115 tons of fish carcasses washed up along 200 kilometres of their shores. This terrible environmental disaster, the worst in the nation’s history, spawns one of its largest ever protest movements. Tensions are high between the nominally communist government, eager foreign investors, and the people of Vietnam — but everyone is hoping to get it all sorted before the US president’s big visit next month.

While the current cast does not reflect the lived cultural experience of the characters, as there are so few opportunities for large scale musicals like this to be developed, the fourth-year students have lent their talent and voices to help the writers bring this piece to the next level — to help it reach wider audiences, and ultimately increase the diversity of stories within the musical theatre canon.

A stand-and-sing workshop presentation.

Presented as a double feature alongside Believers.