The Old Mill Theatre in South Perth is getting in on the Fringe World action this week with a new production of the Pulitzer Prize winning play Rabbit Hole.

Perth based actor and director Christopher Hill first became aware of the work when he saw the film adaptation from John Cameron Mitchell that starred Nicole Kidman. Captivated by the story of a couple grieving the death of their young son Hill pondered how the same situation would play out for a same-sex couple.

He approached the playwright David Lindsay-Abaire and asked if he’d give permission for a queer adaptation of his work, and this week Perth audiences will get a chance to see the new production.

The role of Becca was originally performed by Cynthia Nixon on Broadway, and Nicole Kidman took on the role for the film version, but when Christopher Hill steps on stage on opening night he’ll be playing Ben.

Graeme Watson spoke to Christopher Hill about why he wanted to bring this story to the stage with its gender twist.

“It had such an impact on me.” Hill recalls the first time he saw the film version of Rabbit Hole. “I’m like sitting there, crying and laughing.”

“It was beautiful story about six months down the track, a couple who’ve lost their child. It sounds very depressing, but actually there’s a lot of humor in it. It’s a really, really great well written play, and film about how someone gets through something like that in life.

“It’s a family drama, a comedy. I loved the main character that Nicole Kidman was playing, really sassy, kind of restrained, just very interesting.

“I actually wrote to the writer in New York, and I said, ‘What are the chances that, because I’m an actor, what are the chances you might let a same sex couple be in the lead, because I love this character so much’. And he actually came back with ‘Yes’.

In light of marriage equality been achieved and many same-sex couples heading down the aisle, Hill thought it would be intriguing to re-tell a story about initially about a heterosexual couple through a queer lens. He began adapting the work to transform the story of Howie and Becca to the tale of Howie and Ben, grieving the loss of their son Danny.

“I took a lot of notes from the film in terms of the tone and how to translate that as well. It has a very gentle tone in certain parts, and I wanted to bring that to the play, as well.

“We’ve obviously got like our fighting moments between the two husbands, because they’re in very different places in terms of their grief. Howie doesn’t want to give away of Danny’s things, and Ben is ready to move on – because it’s too much of a reminder because he was a stay-at-home Dad.

“Bringing those elements to the play, they still translate even though it’s the same sex couple, and they translate in a very interesting way. You’re obviously going to have a few different things in place with two Dads instead of a Mum and Dad, like how Danny came to be.

“We created a backstory of going through the process of IVF, and then that brings up a lot of interesting conversations in the play as well because Ben’s sister falls pregnant in the play. So, for Ben and Howie they would have spent 200k on having a baby in Canada via IVF, and then his sister, who’s quite irresponsible, just falls pregnant. It brings a lot of new elements, it translates from having a husband and wife, and we still get a few added bonus things to talk about in conversations.”

Hill says he hopes audience members will walk away from the play with a feeling that even in the worst of situations, you can survive and move on, noting that LGBTIQA+ people sometimes face many challenges.

“Within the queer community mental health is very important, the statistics show we seem to experience depression and anxiety, PTSD and those sorts of things on a higher level. For me I really want the audience to walk out with hope that you can get through those things, and that’s what we I’ve deliberately designed Rabbit Hole to do.

“It’s going to take you to those places with and you’re going to relate and you’re going to understand and you’re going to go I know how that feels. But you’re also going to go ‘Yeah, this is how someone gets through this, and it is possible to get through the rabbit hole of grief.'”

See Rabbit Hole at The Old Mill Theatre from 17 – 19 February. 

OIP Staff

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