Adelaide Fringe

Fringe Review: Sewer Rat Girl

Treat yourself to a show that would not feel out-of-place as a contemporary performance piece at MOMA in New York

4.5

Presented by Siobhan Gibbs
Reviewed 9 March 2022

Sewer Rat Girl, which debuted in 2021, takes its audience far away from the capitalistic, job-focussed, vanity-filled society we currently reside in and delves below the city streets into the grimy tunnels of the sewers, where, yes, it’s a bit gross, but life is free from the un-likeable traits and pressures of society.

Sewer Rat Girl unravels the story of how she ended up within the waste-stained tunnels underneath everyday society; being emotionally drained by a boring job and subsequently unenthusiastic about her artistic passions, hating her body thanks to the unrealistic standards set by a capitalist society, and feeling overwhelmed by all of the horrible things that go on in the world (climate change, wars, etc.). Then, one day, after being fired from her job and tossed into a state of sadness, desperation and hopelessness, she fell down a hole and tumbled into the judgement-free (but also somewhat lonely) sewers that hide beneath the world. Her plan now is to improve society by setting off a special bomb that turns the entirety of the world into a sewer and everyone into rat people, but, will she succeed?

An experimental, bizarre and amusing piece of performance art and theatre that is completely different to anything you would have previously seen – Sewer Rat Girl would not be out of place as a contemporary performance art piece at MoMA in New York, or on stage at a trendy Berlin arts festival held in an abandoned warehouse. Creator Siobhan definitely is one to watch and this show provides a taste of the more unusual, experimental works that also attend Adelaide Fringe and should be explored by the audience. Think beauty pageant sashes celebrating “Miss Sewage 2021”, natural body hair, a dog bowl of cold tinned spaghetti, a skimpy black latex one-piece, abusive cigarette-butt puppets, colourfully bold eye makeup paired with the distinctive features of a rat, and pulling food items stored in condoms from bodily orifices.

Siobhan has great confidence on stage and in what she is performing, which also enhances the humorous side of the show. Amusingly at times, the theatrical performance leans into a little bit of stand-up comedy with the utilisation of trauma humour and raw, honest confessions about life, mixed with self-assured sassiness. The show also provides hilarity within the bullying and passive-aggressive relationship between Sewer Rat Girl and her “sidekick”, the mute Sreg, a mouse Sewer Rat Girl found and made sentient (via handfuls of anti-depressants and some time in a microwave). They have a relationship like that of Yzma and Kronk from Disney comedy The Emperor’s New Groove; an egotistical, long-lashed, power hungry antagonist bossing around their slightly stupid, but undervalued side kick (though Sreg is hilariously more passive-aggressive towards their rat girl boss and gets a huge kick out of annoying her to the pleasure of the audience).

The inspiration behind the show is relatable and it’s refreshing to have a show that reinforces that sometimes we all feel overwhelmed by life, and the idea of just escaping to somewhere where societal pressures don’t exist sounds like a paradise, but perhaps its reality lies in a dank, stinky sewer far below the city’s surface.

Treat yourself to a show that would not feel out-of-place as a contemporary performance piece on any world-renowned modern art platform, as Sewer Rat Girl takes to the stage in Adelaide with her experimental, bizarre and unique theatrical performance (the likes of which you’ve probably never seen).

Reviewed by Georgina Smerd

Venue: My Lover Cindi, 223 Flinders Street, Adelaide, SA, 5000 (entrance down the laneway)
Season: 11 March – 19 March 2022
Duration:  60 mins
Tickets:  $12 – $40
Bookings:  https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/sewer-rat-girl-af2022

Rating out of 5: 4.5

Tags: Adelaide Fringe, My Lover Cindi, Siobhan Gibbs, performance theatre

#Adelaide #ADLFringe #SewerRatGirl #AdelaideFringe2022

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