'Rabbit Hole' shows aftershocks of tragedy
Go! review
“Rabbit Hole” begins with a woman folding clothes, a mundane kind of activity, but a significant act in Becca’s life, for this is the last time that she’ll do the laundry for her son. A few months before the action of the play begins, her 4-year-old son Danny was killed when he chased his dog into the street and ran into the path of an on-coming car.
Undoubtedly the worst thing in the world for a parent is to suffer through such a loss, and “Rabbit Hole” explores how Becca and her husband Howie cope with it — which is not very well. She wants to rid her house of all reminders of her son down to getting rid of the house itself. Howie likes having the stuffed animals around and takes to sitting up alone late at night watching home videos from happier times. She loathes the support groups because the other parents feel their own grief, but not hers. He finds comfort there.
Becca’s sister and mother share in their grief but are helpless to unburden them. In fact, Becca resents her mother’s constant comparisons to the loss of her own son, certain that her grief is unique. And her sister Izzy, now pregnant with her own child, has to remind Becca that the whole family lost Danny.
Most difficult for Becca and Howie, however, is the presence of Jason, the teenager who was driving the car that killed their son, and having to share their grief with him.
“Rabbit Hole” is the kind of play to bring tissues to, no doubt, but that doesn’t mean it’s totally depressing. Indeed, David Lindsay-Abaire’s script is a total delight, the way the characters talk around a point, letting the real story and their real feelings out by degrees.
The Human Race production is beautifully staged on a turntable set (though a little noisy) that reveals three rooms in the house through cut-away walls.
- WHAT: “Rabbit Hole” by David Lindsey-Abaire
- WHERE: Human Race Theatre Company, Loft Theatre, 126 N. Main St., Dayton
- WHEN: Through March 30
- COST: $28-$31
- MORE INFO: (937) 228-3630; www.humanracetheatre.org
