Rats: The Rusical
"Rats: The Rusical" is the second episode of the second series of the British television show RuPaul's Drag Race UK.[1][2][3][4] It originally aired on 21 January 2021 and sees contestants perform in a Rusical (musical theatre challenge). Sheridan Smith is a guest judge.
Episode
For the mini-challenge, the contestants elect a Drag Race cabinet in the categories Secretary of Shade, Trade Minister, Leader of the House of Loading It Up, and Baroness Basic. A'Whora, Tayce, Lawrence Chaney, and Tia Kofi win the mini-challenge, respectively. For the main challenge, the contestants perform in Rats: The Rusical. Following are the contestants and roles:[5]
- Asttina Mandella plays Jane
- A'Whora plays Miss Dysentery
- Bimini Bon-Boulash plays Depravity
- Cherry Valentine, Lawrence Chaney, and Sister Sister play The Rat Pack
- Ellie Diamond plays Scabies
- Ginny Lemon plays Dame Doody Stench
- Tayce plays Scat Rat
- Tia Kofi plays Specimen One
- Veronica Green plays Evita von Fleas
Sheridan Smith is a guest judge. The runway category is "Surprise, Surprise". Ellie Diamond, Tia Kofi, and Veronica Green receive positive critiques, and Veronica Green wins the challenge. Cherry Valentine, Lawrence Chaney, and Tayce receive negative critiques, and Lawrence Chaney is deemed safe. Cherry Valentine and Tayce face off in a lip-sync contest to "Memory" by Elaine Paige. Tayce wins the lip-sync and Cherry Valentine is eliminated from the competition.
Production
The episode originally aired on 21 January 2021.
Reception
Barry Levitt of Vulture ranked Rats number 17 in a list of Rusicals and wrote, "Rusicals typically struggle with large casts, but 11 queens work well for this unhinged take on Cats. It's got the stuff that makes the live Rusicals so much more exciting, from flubbed lines to surprising and stunning vocals that keep the entertainment value high. Rats is silly and stupid enough to be even better than the musical it's parodying — though that's a very low bar. It might not make any sense, but it's performed with such spirit that you simply don't mind."[6]
References
- ↑ Moylan, Brian (2021-01-21). "RuPaul's Drag Race U.K. Recap: Rats Off". Vulture. Archived from the original on 2022-12-25. Retrieved 2025-11-05. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Drag Race UK's unhinged Rats: The Rusical sees underdogs rise up". Dazed. 2021-01-24. Archived from the original on 2023-09-23. Retrieved 2025-11-05. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "'RuPaul's Drag Race UK' Season 2, Episode 2 recap: Jellicle songs for Jellicle 'Rats'". Xtra Magazine. 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
- ↑ Damshenas, Sam (2021-01-21). "Here's how RuPaul's Drag Race UK fans reacted to Rats: The Rusical". Gay Times. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
- ↑ "RuPaul's Drag Race UK: Season 2 queens ranked from top to bottom after Rats". Metro. 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2025-11-18.
- ↑ Levitt, Barry (2025-02-21). "Every Drag Race Rusical, Ranked". Vulture. Retrieved 2025-11-18.
External links
- Rats: The Rusical at IMDb
- Rats: The Rusical 🐀 RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Series 2 Episode 2 on YouTube, WOW Presents Plus
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