The Extraordinary Life of a Rat Racer – Stage Leftovers / Barons Court Theatre, London

A deeply personal dark comedy, The Extraordinary Life of a Rat Racer gives an insight into intrusive thoughts and anxiety as our protagonist, Eva, does her best to get through the day.

The Extraordinary Life of a Rat Racer

Sometimes, in the world of theatre, you need to carve out your own space. That has been the case for Stage Leftovers, the theatre company behind The Extraordinary Life of a Rat Racer. Founded by Chiara Fumanti and Andrea Guerini, Stage Leftovers describes itself as an “accent-blind theatre company”. As migrant artists, Fumanti and Guerini – who both act in this piece as well as taking on other roles behind the scenes – found themselves increasingly alienated from the theatre world. They decided to make their own place in it. A space where an accent was incidental to a character rather than a defining characteristic.

The Extraordinary Life of a Rat Racer is, however, highly autobiographical in the case of Fumanti, and so the experience of being a migrant in London is fairly central to it. The rat racer in question is Eva (Fumanti). A teacher and single mother, getting by with support from her mother (who ensures Eva never forgets the sacrifices she’s made). Eva is on her way to a job interview, then has to get her son to football. The trouble is that Arthur (Guerini) follows her onto the tube. Actually, Arthur follows her everywhere. He is a half-real embodiment of the intrusive thoughts she has been plagued by since a traumatic event at the age of sixteen.

The action, running at just under an hour, is split between Eva’s inner world, interactions with the outside world, and flashbacks to this defining event. Arthur is so ever-present that it’s actually the outside world (a ride on the district line, the interview, calls with her mother) that struggle to break through. Will Eva let herself become overwhelmed by her thoughts, or is it time to take back some control?

The Creativity of Fringe Theatre

The Extraordinary Life of a Rat Racer is a good example of what can be achieved on a tight budget in fringe theatre. The two theatre-makers in question wear many hats, as I mentioned. In fact, their names make up a good 80% of the creative credits. The staging is simple but effective. Apart from Eva and Arthur, other characters are either offstage voices, or balloons. And the manipulation of said balloons brings to life the pervasiveness of intrusive thoughts. The distraction of a balloon to the head during a phone call. The anxiety of never knowing when one will pop. It seems Fumanti’s first-hand experience of intrusive thoughts has led to some innovative but effective ways of conveying the difficulty of thinking about anything else.

Despite the dark subject matter, this is a fun piece of theatre. Both actors commit to their roles, with Guerini really getting his teeth stuck into his ‘half real’ character. Fourth wall breaks are frequent, and create a good audience rapport. I’m not sure if the play achieves its stated aim of demonstrating that those struggling with intrusive thoughts are not alone. Eva’s experience is so rooted in a truly traumatising memory that that sort of universality is maybe hard to achieve. But it does remind us that we can never know what’s going on in the minds of those around us. And that, sometimes, our own worst enemy is within.

The Extraordinary Life of a Rat Racer has had a couple of London outings now. You can catch it at the Barons Court Theatre until 4 July, after which it’s off to Edinburgh. If this is what Stage Leftovers can achieve with such modest means, I look forward to seeing what else they can do as their theatre company continues to grow.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 3.5/5

The Extraordinary Life of a Rat Racer on at Barons Court Theatre until 4 July. Check here for more info and tickets, or here for future dates.