SEWER RAT GIRL
Siobhan Gibbs' Debut Solo Work - Photos by James Caswell
Sewer Rat Girl is a festival show, a crowd-pleaser with a brave performer who is taking advantage of her time on the stage to test herself in a thousand different ways.
- Nadia Jade for Nothing Ever Happens in Brisbane, 2021
Presented as part of RAT DOG DOUBLE BILL, Siobhan debuted her first solo work SEWER RAT GIRL in 2021.
Rat Dog Double Bill is the co-production of two exciting new works by Esther Dougherty and Siobhan Gibbs. Esther Dougherty’s surreal new play, Pawpaw Dog & Other Dog, was presented alongside Siobhan Gibbs’ Sewer Rat Girl, a grotesque after dark comedy. Showcasing the most exciting new talent that Meanjin (Brisbane) has to offer, this delightful sandwich of theatre was produced at Bib ‘N’ Brace Collective in Teneriffe, May 6-15 2021.
This event was held on the unceded lands of the Jaggera and Turrbal people. Storytelling has occurred here since the very first sunrise. Rat Dog Double Bill acknowledges all First Nations elders past, present and emerging. This was and always will be, Aboriginal land.
The double bill opened with writer/directer Esther Dougherty's work, PAWPAW DOG & OTHER DOG. Following her show, was Siobhan Gibbs’ late night special, SEWER RAT GIRL. Developed when Siobhan was an intern at Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre, under the mentorship of Dr Lynne Bradley, SEWER RAT GIRL is the semi-autobiographical tale of the rat-human hybrid and her attempts to navigate life in the sewer. The show has been a-bubbling away for over two years. “Sewer Rat Girl has been in conceptual development for a long time. Lockdown last year, highlighted how much I needed to stop considering it, and start making this show”, Siobhan explains. Constructing a reality of her own, she’s sending out an invitation to escape the human world, and to feast on the filth she has to offer. “Sewer Rat Girl is putting on a show just for you, and I hope every audience member feels that. And if they leave a bit shocked, I’ve done my job.”
Read more about SEWER RAT GIRL and the RAT DOG DOUBLE BILL in this generous review from Nothing Ever Happens in Brisbane: https://www.nothingeverhappensinbrisbane.com/review-archive/rat-dog-double-bill
ALL IMAGES BY JAMES CASWELL
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