HE tells the story of a man who returns to his childhood home, a small coastal town in post-civil war El Salvador — a place he swore to the ocean he’d never set foot in again.

Twenty years have passed. Drenched with salt water, the man babbles a question to the ocean. “Do you remember?” He tells the ocean, and the audience, stories of his childhood—the exquisite spiced fish his grandma cooked, the vile jokes his dad loved telling to his ex-army buddies, the forbidden story his mum asked his grandma never to tell him, and about the time he was almost drowned by the ocean. 

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THE CREW -

🎬Writer / Director / Performer: Rodrigo Calderón

💡Original Lighting Design: Zac Beaumont

📝Playwriting Consultants: Jorgelina Cerritos, Edgardo Dib, Matthew Crosby and Damien Millar

✨Provocateur: Kendra Keller

👥Loving Witnesses: Stephen Phillips, Tony Yap, and Bagryana Popov

🎞️Producers: Kat Carrington, Rodrigo Calderón

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[Content Warnings: Contains references to homophobia and violence, including the use of homophobic slurs.]

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ABOUT THE ARTIST -

About Rodrigo Calderon

Born in El Salvador, Rodrigo Calderón Tobar has spent the last 17 years directing, teaching, performing, and exploring diverse movement-based forms that emphasize the body as a communicative and political tool. His work spans theatre productions, arts festivals, films, and educational projects across Argentina, Australia, El Salvador, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Panama, and the United States. Early in his career, he collaborated with Salvadoran actor/director César Pineda, exploring the ritualistic nature of theatre—a pivotal experience that shaped his commitment to using the actor’s body as a means of creating ceremonial gatherings and fostering community. Rodrigo's practice integrates a wide range of movement forms, including Shamanic Trance Dance, Butoh, Baris dance, Chekhov's Technique, Gaga-Dance, Meyerhold's Biomechanics, and the Suzuki Method. Currently based in Melbourne, Australia, he has collaborated with The Thursday Group ensemble (focused on Tadashi Suzuki’s theatre technique), Tony Yap Company (merging Asian Shamanic Trance Dance with post-modern mediums), and 5ANGRYMen, known for their innovative and physically demanding plein-air performances.