A prancing pig, a choreographed cow and a cavorting cat inflating balloons and fashioning them into phallic representations punctuate the pentagon of monologues in SLAUGHTERHOUSE, a Rashomon styled narrative telling the tale of a retaliatory act of violence at an ethical eating start up.

The quintuple, all witness to the event, have varying versions, but their testimony evolves from their own veritas.

SLAUGHTERHOUSE has a rich and articulate text by Anchuli Felicia King rendered in a robust theatricality by a highly energetic cast under the direction of Benita de Wit.

Proceedings open with Brooke Rayner playing the perpetrator of a retaliatory act and back-grounding her predicament in a perfectly chatty confessional that reveals a great slab of her history both pertinent and peripheral, plus a proficiency for eating hard boiled eggs.

Adam Marks plays the vile alpha male, Josh, a toxic tosser whose misogyny is mammoth, an elephant in the room of equal oportunity, a bull in the china shop of political correctness, a predator at the top of the food chain, deaf to the insensitivities he spouts.

Sharp, bitter and sometimes twisted testimony comes from two female observers played by Stephanie Somerville and Romy Bartz, and a totally unreliable witness presents in the substance abuse addled character portrayed by Tom Matthews.

The multi-media aspect of SLAUGHTERHOUSE is apt without being intrusive adding dramatic, comic and ironic grist to this tale that reminds us that in this brave, new world, this planet of the apps, beastly behaviour abides.

Slaughterhouse By Anchuli Felicia King
Venue: Belvoir Street Theatre
Dates: Playing till November 2nd 2019
Times: 7:45pm (6:45 on Tuesday/Wednesday, 5:15 on Sunday)
Bookings: https://belvoir.com.au/25a/slaughterhouse/