I watched the local production of "Rabbit Hole" last night, starring Adrian Pang, produced by his production company Pangdemonium!. Adrian Pang is one of the few really talented artistes here. It is our country's good fortune that he decided to come back and contribute to the arts sector here. Having said that, the entire cast is talented, and played out the roles well.
One good thing about the cast is that they all speak good English. I do not mean local-accented English, but really fluent English, with proper pronunciation. There are only five characters - the main leads Howie and Becka, Izzy, Becka and Izzy's mother and Jason the teenager.
In the play, Howie and Becka are still recovering from the loss of their son, who died in a car accident. Jason was driving and he swerved in order to avoid hitting Howie's dog, but unfortunately hit their son instead. Becka's mum was trying her best to help her get over her grief, but Becka was not being receptive. Izzy, Becka's younger sister, seemed to be the airhead, but she was also grieving in her own way.
Later on it transpired that Howie was the one that was grieving more, just that he did not show it. Becka put up a great show on being so emotional and it was no secret she was so upset over her son's death, yet at the end she was the one who was able to come to terms with it. Whereas Howie, seeming strong and clear-headed on the surface, was actually subconsciously trying to block out his grief, and told his wife to get over the situation.
Yet it was Howie who crumbled when Becka wanted to sell the house, gave the dog away, accidentally taped over the family tape, and kept their son's things. He felt it a betrayal on the part of Becka and that she was trying to forget their son altogether. It was also Becka who first came to terms with Jason, who killed their son, and was even nice and civil with him, whereas Howie, although he claimed he did not blame Jason, almost came to blows with him when Jason dropped in for a visit.
The whole play is light-hearted, yet intense drama at the same time. It made one wants to laugh and cry. I really applaud the production team that despite the theme of the drama being so solemn, they were still able to inject humour in such a way that it was funny, yet not corny, and still able to fit into the entire solemn theme.
I will not even venture to mention the actors and actresses, who really played their roles to perfection. It made me feel for them, their family closeness, how they stood by each other despite the difficult time, despite their differing personalities.
I like the ending part, where Becka finally called her friend whom she had not heard from ever since her son's death, and whom she felt could be more caring and sensitive to her. Howie was surprised, but at the same time, that showed the couple is indeed moving on, slowly, but surely.
The ending sentences sum it all up :
Becka : So what do we do now?
Howie : We will survive, somehow.
Yes, they will all survive somehow, because that is what a marriage and family is! Being there together to go through ups and downs together, moving on and carving a better future.
This is an excellent production from beginning to end. Really worth watching!
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