Queensland Theatre Company @ The GreenHouse and Polytoxic Present
The Rat Trap

Polytoxic invites you to The Rat Trap, a technicolour tiki bar where the doors are locked but the drinks are flowing.

Curfew is lifted and the guest list includes the high flying King of Burlesque, a body adorned Samoan chief, a hot brown bitch, a fabulous femme fatale and a seven-foot Islander drag offender. Come witness the unholy union of these five mongrel cross-breeds as a soap-opera saga of epic proportions unfolds.

The inhabitants of The Rat Trap work the room, swing from the lampshades, thrash about in fits of rage, and wield whips, hoops, bottles and fans, in a world where the traditions of the Pacific, the guts of physical performance and the crimes of pop-culture collide.

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“This is circus meets dance meets vaudeville, delivered with incredible energy. The performers are sexy as all hell and the vibe is seedy bordello…this is physical theatre with characters and story at its heart” ourbrisbane.com

Synopsis:

The Rat Trap spins a melodramatic tale around five decadently seedy characters who drink, fight, seduce and despair in the bowels of a bawdy tiki bar.

Your host for the evening is the delusional half-man, half-woman JanUri – who’s totes lost her shit. Then there’s Helena and Marlena – identical Siamese twins (one black, one white) surely destined for freak-showgirl stardom. Born conjoined, but split asunder by a crazy anchor accident at sea, these girls have some serious separation issues. Their father, Maurice, has found refuge in The Rat Trap. He is a blackbird-in-hiding, and the last of the now defunct Pacific slave trade. The place is in lockdown, and it’s the timelessly handsome Madman Mohito who mans the doors and keeps the club swinging.

Spend a night in the Rat Trap with the rats, and drink in an epic potion of death, sibling rivalry, physical tension and freak show fantasy.

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Additional Credits:

Dramaturg: Kathryn Kelly
Projection Designer & Photography: Sean Young
Production Manager: Cameron Brown
Rigging Consultant: Helen Clifford
Co-creator (initial development): Amanda-Lyn Pearson
Stage Manager: Whitney Eglington
Design Realiser: Maria Cleary
Design Assistant: Madeline Taylor
Additional Text: Daniel Evans
Additional Costume Design: Lisa Fa’alafi
Costume Coordinator: Nathalie Ryner
Costume Cutter: Gayle Magregor
Costume Makers: Bianca Bulley and Michelle Wiki
Producer: Leah Shelton, Polytoxic
Consulting Producer: MAPS for Artists

First developed and presented as a scratch performance at World Theatre Festival, Brisbane Powerhouse. Premiere season produced by Polytoxic and Queensland Theatre Company.
Polytoxic is supported by MAPS for Artists, a management and producing service delivered by Metro Arts.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body. This project has also received financial assistance from the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, and the Brisbane City Council.

Polytoxic would like to acknowledge the in-kind support of Pegasus Vision Crew, ProNel, Vulcana, and SYC Studios.

Warning: Explicit Language, Herbal Cigarette, Sexual References and Partial Nudity.