Blithe Spirit

Rabbit Hole

by David Lindsay-Abaire
Directed by Jan Saussey

Season 1st August - 15th August 2015

The Corbetts have everything a family could want, until the day their world is turned upside down.

In the aftermath of a life-shattering accident, a young husband and wife find themselves drifting perilously apart. Rabbit Hole charts their bittersweet search for comfort in the darkest of places...and for a path that will lead them back up into the light of day.
 
Undoubtedly, the simplicity has been a crucial component in the accolades the play has received. Significant events do happen of course, but Lindsay-Abaire’s presentation is so subtle that the audience does not see the shifts until they have already occurred. This is a play that shows how close comedy and tragedy really are. In many ways, what makes it bearable to watch Becca and Howie work through their grief is the liberal amount of humour Lindsay-Abaire has included in the script. The positive responses that greeted Rabbit Hole often praise it on similar terms: its ability to juxtapose heartfelt emotion with moments of incredible humour.

Rabbit Hole opened on Broadway in 2006 and in 2007 won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

In 2007, film director John Cameron Mitchell announced his plans for a movie adaptation and was released in 2010. The film starred Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart as Becca and Howie.

Director

JAN SAUSSEY

There aren’t many plays that have an impact quite like Rabbit Hole. From the moment I read it I was hooked and so began a captivating journey, not only studying the play and its characters but comprehending the human response to grief.

This play will certainly move you. Not with dramatic explosions of emotions and oratory flamboyance, but in its stark simplicity and raw truth. Blessed with a truly fine cast and a talented and enthusiastic crew, Rabbit Hole will certainly satisfy those discerning audiences whose need for fine drama is paramount in their quest for good entertainment.

Every cast member was captivated by Mr. Lindsay-Abaire’s poetic empathy and understanding of people who become displaced within their own lives. Rehearsals were a curious mix of the mechanics on stage and illuminating discussions on character behaviour and response. Rabbit Hole left us all with a deeper understanding of the anatomy of grief

A Piece of my Heart

by Shirley Lauro
Directed by Barry Spring

Season 19th September - 10th October 2015

They're at bed-sides in operating theatres, and on the battlefields. They give comfort, ease pain and devote themselves to service even in the face of iminent danger. They are the Nurses and these are true stories based on over 1500 personal interviews. The memories will move you to laughter, tears and enormous admiration of the courage, dedication and selflessness of these special women.

Note Mild adult themes, some language may offend.

“Save one man and you’re a hero, save one hundred men, and you’re a nurse.”

— Anonymous

DIRECTOR

Barry Spring

This play is a retelling of memories of nurses who served in Vietnam during the war of the sixties.

But it is also a reflection of all nurses who have served in all wars. Volunteers, sharing the ever present dangers of the unknown in conditions that sometimes beggar the imagination.

So when we think of heroes we should think not only of the men in uniform who have fought to preserve our freedoms and way of life, but the women who nursed, read to, talked to and gave hope to those wounded and dying.

These women who hail from every country in times of danger, never receiving their due in public perception - only in the memories of those whose lives they touched.

I hope that tonight will give us all cause to acknowledge the huge debt we owe to them.