A dollar fight gone wrong, a classy Shiela with a mind for revenge and a private detective hot on her heels… The Ballard of Backbone Joe tells a twisted tale of the apparent murder of Messy Dimes Dan, owner of the town’s abattoir and boxing emporium.

Set in the roaring carnival days of pre-war Australia, this tin-pan alley opera presents a jigsaw-puzzle narrative using film, visual trickery, bone-crunching physical theatre and the unique Rag’n’ Bone music and junkyard aesthetic of Melbourne-based trio The Suitcase Royale. Contra bass, banjo,guitar,accordion, drums and the ghostly voice of a red-dressed vixen carry this broken-down truck of a musical down the windy road of revenge.