RABBIT HOLE @ THE UNION THEATRE

Directed by Lawrence Carmicheal, Assistant Direction by Aaron Blackledge, Design by Ethan Cheek, Lighting by Ryan Day, Production Photography by David Monteith-Abaire.

Becca and Howie Corbett have a picture perfect family life in the suburbs of New York until a random, tragic accident takes the life of their four-year old son. Rabbit Hole delves into the complexity of a family navigating deep grief, and learning what it means to live a fruitful life when things fall apart.

“The Union’s performance space has been reconfigured; the old cinema seating jettisoned for plastic chairs in two blocks facing the action and a handful on either side. It gives the feel of peeping into a private space, but not wanting to look away.”

“it’s more stylised – Ethan Cheek’s striking living room/kitchen set demonstrates that from the outset, with every prop, fitting and furnishing washed a delicate white, the only flashes of colour coming from anything child-related, such as a kid’s book, the baby clothes bereaved mother so lovingly folds away, or the tumble of toys suspended above, at once a torment and a comfort to the grieving parents, and note the awkward angles the furniture’s placed at, as though a metaphor for the fractured relationships – it is also more imaginatively theatrical.”

“As they grieve for him, the set by Ethan Cheek (whites and greys, with a reminder of the child’s clothes and toys literally hanging over all proceedings) highlights their inability to move on. Eye-catching and empty, it effectively captures the gaze the moment you walk in”