Rabbit Hole : Kanata theatre at its best.
David Lindsay-Abaire’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Rabbit Hole, offers a carefully-textured examination of how individuals, in their various ways, deal with grief and loss. It’s tricky material, a drama in which a moment of silence can be as powerful as a cascade of words and in which locked-in sorrow can be more palpable than an unfettered outpouring of emotion.
There is a cathartic process underway as bereaved parents Becca and Howie attempt to resume living following the accidental death of their four-year-old son. But as the play gently but firmly makes clear, their journey out of darkness is not an easy one — indeed, as is so frequent in such situations, their own relationship is in jeopardy.
It’s a measure of Brooke Keneford’s thoughtful, measured production for Kanata Theatre that the play’s final memorable moments do not slide into an easy, comfortable glibness. They are touching, but they don’t evoke closure: what they offer is hope and a continuation of the healing process.
Keneford and his accomplished cast are responsive to the needs and nuances of the material. This is a play where, in response to tragic loss, characters attempt to cocoon themselves against the pain, each establishing the kind of internal support system which makes coping possible. But as both play and production emphasize, such parallel emotional realities can prove tenuous.
The survivors play out their destinies in the living room, kitchen and dead child’s bedroom of this Westchester home — a setting serviceably conveyed by designer Susan V. Phillips. It’s here that we first meet Becca (a sensitive performance from Chrissy Hollands) dealing with the laundry — matter-of-factly folding the shorts and tee shirts and favourite bedspread of a child who, it transpires, has been dead for eight months — and you are left wondering what’s happening emotionally here.
You get some of the answers when her husband, Howie, appears. There is no denying the emotional complexity of Tim Mabey’s very fine portrayal of a father devastated by loss and seemingly less capable than the apparently pragmatic Becca of moving on. His anguish over Becca’s erasure of the last home video of their son is palpable. His angry disbelief towards her claim that the erasure was accidental provides some compelling moments in this production — but it doesn’t leave the viewer ascribing blame or apportioning right and wrong. Easy judgements are impossible when emotional communication has broken down to this extent.
Don’t assume, however, that Rabbit Hole is a relentlessly glum experience. It is ultimately more a play of character than of situation, and it is laced by moments of rich, releasing humour. Much of this is supplied by Susan Nugent, outstanding as
Becca’s high-spirited pregnant sister: her mischievous opening monologue about a night out that goes terribly wrong is a scene to be savoured. The production is further strengthened by the presence of Rosemary Keneford as Nat, their garrulous but resilient mom, and by an appealing performance from Jordan Campbell as the teenage driver responsible for Danny’s death.
This the kind of production which gives community theatre a good name.
Rabbit Hole continues at the Ron Maslin Playhouse, Kanata, to February 16.
Rabbit Hole
By David Lindsay-Abaire
Director: Brooke Keneford
Set: Susan V. Phillips
Sound: Gerry Thompson
Lighting: Zach Andruchow
Costumes: Kathryn Clarke and Marilyn Valliquette
Cast:
Becca……………………………….Chrissy Hollands
Izzy…………………………………Susan Nugent
Howie……………………………….Tim Mabey
Nat…………………………………..Rosemary Keneford
Jason…………………………………Jordan Campbell
Voice of Danny……………………..Anne Flockton
Voice of Taz…………………………Alfie