Hot Rats, and their namesake monthly cabaret show at The Library, have made a big splash in Oxford since they kicked off last autumn, growing a devoted fanbase. The same can be said for Live and Peculiar, a recurring cabaret from Rain Stops Play productions that has popped up in Jericho Tavern, New Theatre Piano Bar, and elsewhere.
The similarities between collectives' events is clear: while each has a distinct flavour, both are zany, kaleidoscopic blends of poetry, drag, cabaret, comedy and burlesque.
Perhaps with this much common ground between the groups, things were bound to turn into a united front... or, it seems, a turf war. The result: a double-trouble showdown at the Tap Social Taproom in Botley. On Wednesday the 19th, nominated acts from both groups will compete to win the audience's love and take home Oxford's cabaret crown (metaphorically).
As champions of unbiased journalism, Daily Info got BOTH sides of the story from organisers behind the two groups. Read all about it ahead of the big night...
Daily Information: First off, the basics! What is Hot Rats? What is Live and Peculiar? And what has inspired your organisers to collaborate?
Hot Rats: Hot Rats is a monthly alternative cabaret night down in the basement at The Library (previously known as ‘The Rat Hole’ as we found out later). It’s a night where ANYTHING goes, a safe space for performers to share some of their rattiest/sexiest and more alternative work. We wanted to create a space for that in Oxford.
Live and Peculiar: In the halcyon days of late 2023, we (Absana Rutherford and Jack McMinn) conceived the Live and Peculiar cabaret on the benches of the Covered Market, came up with the name in the backrooms of The Star, and have since been celebrating the crème-de-la-crème of comedy, music, art and more in Oxford, London and beyond – keeping the spirit of classic variety shows alive with a modern lick of paint. We curate each of our shows carefully to showcase new and established talent, as well as local painters and visual artists.
We also have our Oxford Comedy Archive, which is a free online museum of the city’s comedy scene over the past seventy years. Live and Peculiar was selected as part of the Offbeat Oxford Festival 2024 and we recently collaborated with the Museum of Oxford on their Ronnie Barker exhibition - yet there’s still much more to come…
HR: We decided to collaborate (battle it out) with Live and Peculiar because they kept smack talking us down the pub - OR maybe it was because we wanted to join forces and give Oxford the ultimate cabaret show because we both believe in the same thing. Can’t remember which.
DI: The show gathers a variety of local performers across the comedy, poetry, cabaret and music scenes. What was the selection process like?
HR: It’s quite hard to pin down rats, but we managed to set a few traps and we’ve got some real juicy acts this month. We saw a couple of acts we really liked at the new drag king night ‘This is Kingland’ which runs once a month at The Library, we also have chosen some Hot Rat regular performers and they are ready to fight!
LP: We chose some of our most trusted collaborators to represent our corner of the ring. Antonia, Richard Taylor, Niamh Simpson and J Henry are true blue Live and Peculiar patriots, and we’ve wanted to include Foo in one of our shows for ages now. We essentially wanted a line-up that was the equivalent of smacking a bag of high-grade beef mince – no fat, just quality lean that’ll put hair on your chest, or remove hair from your chest if you prefer. You know what? Whatever ‘hair scenario’ YOU the reader personally wants, our acts will make it happen. Metaphorically.
DI: Both your cabaret nights usually take place in more intimate venues - how has it been scaling the show to fit the Tap Social space?
HR: Combined with ideas of grandeur and watching too much WWE in preparation, we’ve had to scale down our ideas for this one. Tap Social is a great venue! Plus the extra headroom is very exciting, even if we are all rats.
LP: But also… How should we know how it scales? We haven’t done the show yet! You can tell us how it is when you write a glowing review, jammed full of quotes we can use in future Live and Peculiar publicity.
HR: We don’t need the publicity.
LP: Get back in your cage.
HR: *bares teeth*
DI: Are there any performers you're especially excited about? Is including up-and-coming talent a priority for you?
LP: I can think of a couple of rodent performers I’M not excited about. They’re up-and-coming in the sense they keep coming up through the floorboards and giving us ticks.
HR: Rude. Well, we can’t wait to see what Buttfish will do! Buttfish is a ‘Drag Thing’ burlesque act and perfectly encapsulates what Hot Rats is all about. But overall, we are excited about ALL the acts and Hot Rats was always about championing up and coming talent and creating a safe space for queer performers.
DI: What's next for you after Cabaret Fight Club?
LP: Haha, well, we’ll be announcing something at this very show, funnily enough…
HR: Oh, will you? Anyway, once we have attended Live and Peculiar’s funeral, we have the next Hot Rats on Tuesday April 29th, which will be Medieval themed! We are also in the process of planning a new event with Curio Bookshop in Common Ground called ‘Hot Rats - Under the Covers’, more info on that soon…
DI: What's a favourite memory from a past cabaret?
LP: Too many to count! Jeff the 8 foot wicker-man at our most recent folklore-themed show was a bit of an eye-catcher, though we didn’t risk burning it indoors. It was instead torn apart outside by a bunch of stand-up comedians, as is surely the most dignified way to go.
HR: The answer is also ‘too many to count’. But rats only have a memory span of about 72 hours anyway. We live in the moment.
DI: Finally, please describe Cabaret Fight Club in three words.
LP: Buy a ticket?
HR: Original.
LP: That’s rich coming from the cabaret night where EVERY night is just rat-themed. Bet that doesn’t get old.
HR: *does a poo on the carpet and scurries away*
Cabaret Fight Club is on at the Tap Social Movement, Wed 19th Mar, 7:30pm. Tickets £7-£10.