Rabbit Hole

This 2007 Pulitzer winning drama written by David Lindsay-Abaire should have audiences laughing one moment and crying the next. The story surrounds Howie and Becca, who have the world at their feet – until their four-year-old son Danny is tragically killed in a road accident.

The play is set eight months after their son’s death and deals with how the family handles the grieving process. “The family members are grieving in their own way. They’re coming together and have their own ways they want to say things to people and they affect that person in a way that they perhaps didn’t intend. So, there’s a bit of humour between the family which is important to this play,” explained the director, Christie Koppe.

Considering the subject matter Koppe said that the comedic elements work well within the play. “The writer David Lindsay-Abaire said at the beginning of the script that ‘it’s really important to make sure that there are lights in order to understand the shades’. I think it’s incredibly important to the subject matter because nobody wants to go see two hours of people simply grieving. That would not be a play I would want to go and see!” laughed Koppe. “This play is incredible. It’s so beautifully written and it’s just stunning to see this family interact together.”

Koppe said that the ensemble cast of five, headed by Peter-William Jamieson (Howie) and Imogen Morgan (Becca) gel so well that it really is a believable family. “This family is looking for hope and connection and whether they’re grasping at things that fall through they’re continuing to try, so it’s that need to work together that is somehow realised across this very realistic piece.”

This play is for an adult audience. “It would especially resonate with anybody who has ever been a parent because the loss of a child is something that seems quite incomprehensible,” concluded Koppe. (MMo)

Apr 18-27. Chippen Street Theatre, 45 Chippen St Chippendale. $30-$35+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.trybooking.com/BAMHZ