Rabbit Hole
by David Lindsay-Abaire
Directed by Mikayla Hosking
24 March - 9 April, 2022
Directors Notes
Hello,
Firstly, I want to personally thank each and every one of you for supporting independent theatre and independent artists, especially during this time. Here we all were thinking we were on the way out! 2022 has not gone the way any of us expected (let alone wanted) but the perseverance of my cast, crew, and all other arts practitioners has been truly inspiring. We feel incredibly fortunate to still have this opportunity to perform for you tonight, as we know many others have not been so lucky. We thank you once again.
Grief is a funny, funny thing. It destroys us and remakes us. It rips us apart, only for us to try to put ourselves together again. It is the darkest of dark, followed by a glimmer of light. It makes us cry, it makes us laugh, it makes us want to tear our hearts out, and it makes us human.
Rabbit Hole is an exploration of what it is to be human. What it is to be grieving and not know how to do it right. What it is to try to put your heart back together when it’s in forty million pieces. What it is to be a family. What it is to be alone. The good… the bad… the ugly… the sometimes accidental violence, the untimely arrivals, the worst gifts, and the best surprises.
Rabbit Hole’s honesty and fearlessness in its exploration of grief are only second to the honesty and fearlessness showed by those performing it. This cast has given so much during this process and has brought such life, heartache, and connection to this piece. I couldn’t be more proud.
Welcome to the world of Becca and Howie Corbett; the world of their loving, if not slightly hair-brained, family; the world where terrible things happen and all we can do in the aftermath is try to live. A world where everything is connected… because what else is there to life, if not to connect with one another.
Enjoy.
MH
About the play
Rabbit Hole, written by David Lindsay-Abaire, premiered on Broadway in 2006 and was the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007. Rabbit Hole is an honest, brave, and searingly touching portrait of a family experiencing the most heartbreaking of griefs.
The play follows Becca and Howie Corbett, a couple in their late thirties, in the months following a horrific accident. Searching for what is still possible in everyday existence after unimaginable agony.
Becca finds pain in the familiar, while Howie finds comfort. He wants to hold on to the memories, cherish them, obsess over them; she wants to move on, erase the past, and start fresh.
Cracks begin to appear in the relationship as Howie bonds with a member of therapy group and Becca reaches out to a teenage boy with an intertwined past. Tensions are only increased with the tumultuous involvement of Becca’s mother, Nat, and her sister, Izzy.
The journey for this couple, this family, is an intimate glimpse into loved ones learning to re-engage with one another, couples learning to love again, and people learning to piece themselves together after everything falls apart.
**CAST**
Becca Corbett – Janelle Bailey
Howie Corbett – Stephen Hirst
Izzy – Vanessa Moltzen
Nat – Julia Johnson
Jason Willette – Fraser Anderson
**CREW**
Director – Mikayla Hosking
Stage Manager - Meg Toni
Assistant Stage Manager – Lara Rix
Assistant Stage Manager - Petria Leong
Costume Designer – Xanthe Jones
Poster by @creativestreetphoto
Reviews
Ad Astra’s The Rabbit Hole is an honest and confronting look at grief and the different ways in which people experience this deeply uncomfortable headspace. It’s an exploration of the rabbit hole that we find ourselves falling down when we’ve lost someone close to our heart.
Virag Dombay - Nothing Ever Happens in Brisbane | Read full review
Rarely do we get to see stage actors at work so close; spaces like Ad Astra provoke emotion from the audience without having to try too hard. Being so close to the actors made this story one to remember.
Ellie Waddington - Theatre Haus | Read full review
This style of theatre directed by the innovative, Mikayla Hosking, which aimed to push the actors to work at a high standard, allowed for good creativity and skill of portrayal and gave the audience a thought-provoking production.
Lilian Harrington - Absolute Theatre | Read full review
At almost 2.5 hours (including interval) “Rabbit Hole” is long, but it is good… very good. The study of grief written by David Lindsay-Abaire was the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007. Lindsay-Abaire’s cohesive script is well-written, full of naturalistic dialogue and dramatic intensity. And Mikayla Hosking’s restrained direction builds upon this with an approach that is characterised by quiet moments to add to character introspection and emotional tension, which ultimately makes its experience more moving than depressing.
Meredith Walker - Blue Curtains | Read full review
Director Mikayla Hosking and her cast have obviously worked hard to keep all the performances pitch-perfect.
Beth Keehn - Stage Whispers | Read full review
Actors
Creatives & Crew
Behind the Scenes
Photography by : @lifeofrileypictures
Awards
Best Director - Nominated
Mikayla Hosking