Credit: Marc Chalifoux
Rat Academy
A laugh-out-loud comedy!
Presented by Surrey SPARK Stages.
Address
Tickets & pricing
Child $16 | Adult $21
Special 4-pack pricing is available by calling the Box Office at 604-501-5566.
By Batrabbit Collective, Alberta
In the anti-rat hysteria of 1950s Alberta, the last two remaining rats scurry toward survival in this physical comedy that will have you clutching your tail! Fingers, a gruff street rat with a heart of gold meets Shrimp, a cheerful escapee from a lab. To dodge danger and ensure their legacy, Fingers starts Rat Academy to train Shrimp in the cold, hard ways of the street rat. The two navigate the treacherous landscape of human hatred and rat traps. Will they make it? Only their magic 8 ball knows for sure.
Audience advisory: Loud noises, cartoonish violence, some strong language, simulated smoking and audience interaction.
About the artists
Batrabbit Collective is Dayna Lea Hoffmann, Katie Yoner, and Joseph McManus. The collective pushes the boundaries of contemporary theatre and clowning and strives to devise work that is spectacular, deeply personal, and heavily informed by clown and comedy. All three members of the collective hold BFAs in theatre or acting and been mentored by the creators of Mump and Smoot. Rat Academy (2023) is the third iteration of the concept, and the third collaboration of queer biracial artist, Dayna Lea Hoffmann and queer artist, Katie Yoner as a performing femme duo. Fingers the Rat originally debuted in Hoffmann’s 2020 short film titled The Last Rat in Edmonton. As artists-in-residence, Hoffman and Yoner were invited to reprise the role of Fingers in the creation of Rat Academy (2022) for the Edmonton Play the Fool Festival. Joseph McManus joined the duo as director for the show and has since become a crucial part of the three-person collective. The collective has also produced Can I Keep It, a bouffon piece, and The Radical Re-education of Generation Z for the 2023 Play the Fool Festival.
