Review: Ratking, The Playground Theatre

It is said that the modern workplace is a cutthroat place, but surely society has progressed beyond the more brutal behaviours of our ancestors? Or at the very least we are more civilised than animals? In Ratking, created and performed by the talented and dexterous company of LabRats, these three worlds are not so dissimilar. Whilst the trio of narratives explore power struggles, they take very different stylistic approaches to bring them to life, while Anita Brokmeier, Kate Taylor Hunter, Felipe Jara, Devaki Rajendran, Claudia Shnier and Chloe Shyan are all an engaging presence throughout.

The story of the contemporary tech company has a more traditional presentation, full of humorous experiences the audience can relate to; long hours, friendly banter and frantic activity to meet targets. When opportunity for promotion arises, the staff ruthlessly battle to outdo each other and impress the boss; Nathan Gregory’s voiceover is full of artificial cheerfulness as he expresses pride and threats of redundancies.

In ancient Rome, family members seek favour with the emperor, testing each other’s loyalties until they spring into action to eliminate rivals and seize the crown. This solemn segment is often portrayed in silence, the cast conveying their intent through graceful movements as successive rulers ascend and are supplanted. A family of rats lives happily together, until the position of alpha becomes vacant and is fiercely contested; this narrative is presented through absorbing physical theatre, bringing the creatures to life.

In an innovative choice, the narratives of the three worlds are intertwined to highlight parallels, with actions seamlessly transitioning between them. Running Romans become office workers racing into the office, who then symbolically turning on each other and devolve into rats literally devouring each other.

With such frequent and fast-paced transitions, Marina Ambrosone’s costume design uses an inventive modular approach to enable the cast to seamlessly switch out the different elements of their attire. When portraying the Romans, they wear gleaming white tunics which hang low enough to largely conceal their black trousers and skirts. Tucking in the tunics whilst donning black or grey blazers quickly transforms them into the modern office workers. To depict the rats, the lights cut out completely, the blazers are buttoned up to blend their bodies into the darkness, and red torches are held up to represent the eyes. These rats are endearingly brought to life by the ensemble athletically scurrying across the stage, angling the torches and producing a variety of squeaking and gibberish sounds to impressively and clearly convey a range of emotions from fear, sadness and aggression.

Likewise, the set design comprises wheeled pieces which can easily be manoeuvred into place or set aside for each narrative; the black furniture completely disappears into the darkness during the rat scenes. A table serves as Roman podium, crypt and temple, often within the same scene; pushing that aside and bringing the swivel chairs centre stage enables the transition to modern corporate office.

The performances are accompanied by creative music to heighten the mood. Energetic techno beats combine with the frantic tapping of computer keyboards (some held like musical instruments), whilst slower emotive choral chanting accompanies the montage of scheming Roman plots. Amirul Azmi’s lighting design provides visual cues to support the narratives; flashing red alerts as the tech company faces a crisis and inspirational lights accompanying Roman prayers to the gods.

This is an engaging drama, with the talented ensemble bringing the diverse characters to life through emotive language and precise movements. It is fascinating to watch them merge and blur the lines between contemporary and historic, human and animal.

Created and performed by LabRats
Costume design by Marina Ambrosone
Lighting design by Amirul Azmi

Ratking has completed its run at The Playground Thetare. The show played as part of Voila Festival, which runs until Sunday 23 November.