In a twisted new horror for our dangerous times, award winning performer, writer and composer Ben Grant presents The Rug – an electropera for one pale male at the La Mama Courthouse for a limited season from 31 October 2018.
Created and performed by Ben, recognisable as one of those affable guys who wandered the state in Tourism Victoria’s recent campaign, The Rug focuses an opera glass on middle class male privilege, then smashes the lens and shoves the shattered splinters into Australia’s angry white neck.
A wild musical ride, The Rug veers through a psychopathic tale of hair loss, job loss and life loss, before crashing into a glam-rock bloodbath. It is serious and entertaining, funny and hard. At 45 minutes, it’s a short sharp shiv of a show. You walk away then realise you’re bleeding.
Ben Grant is the first Australian to collaborate with world renowned Quebecois theatre maker Robert Lepage as an actor/author, co-creating and performing in Ex Machina’s Playing Cards: Hearts from 2013 to 2015 across Europe and the Americas.
In 2012, he won the Green Room Award for Best Male Performance for Save For Crying by Angus Cerini at La Mama Theatre and was nominated for his music and sound design in Melbourne Theatre Company’s A Behanding in Spokane.
In 2015, Ben was the dramaturg on Chamber Made Opera’s subterranean Captives Of The City – which won Best Design and Realisation in Melbourne Contemporary Performance. In 2017, he was nominated for his music and sound design for The Season by Nathan Maynard which won the Green Room award for Best Production. Ben was most recently seen as Arnold in Red Stitch’s acclaimed 2018 production of Taylor Mac’s Hir.
Creator / Performer: Ben Grant Co-Designer: Herbz Lighting Designer: Paul Lim (Additive) Set Construction: Rah Creations
The Rug
La Mama Courthouse, 349 Drummond Street, Carlton
Season: 31 October – 11 November 2018
Information and Bookings: www.lamama.com.au
Image: Ben Grant stars in The Rug – photo by Pier Carthew