In a metaphorical sense, a rabbit hole is a long and meandering exploring route with several connections and offshoots. In a trip down the rabbit hole, a person sets out on a journey with a certain objective in mind, gets diverted by numerous occurrences, and changes directions several times along the way, finally ending up somewhere unexpected, usually without having fulfilled the quest's original aim. That is exactly how the relationship between Becca and Howie Corbett went.
At Union theatre, a show titled Rabbit Hole was performed based on a movie of the same name revolving around the life of Becca and Howie turned upside down after their kid dies in an accident. Becca, a former CEO turned stay-at-home mother, strives to reinvent her existence in a strange world of well-meaning relatives and friends. Becca's experiences are painful, tragic, and frequently humorous, leading her to seek consolation in a mysterious relationship with Jason, a disturbed young comic-book artist who was the youthful driver of the car that murdered Danny. Becca's obsession with Jason draws her away from Danny's memories, while Howie retreats to the past, seeking solace in strangers who can give him what Becca can't. Both adrift, the Corbetts face unexpected and perilous decisions as they select a course that will define their fate.
David Lindsay-Abaire wrote the entire play, and the screenplay was excellent, dramatic, and emotional, while Lawrence Carmichael directed it.
I felt it was a serious issue concerning a kid who was driven over by a young high school student by mistake. The subject matter is serious, yet the performers' portrayals of the same were inconsistent. Some of the performers were excellent, but others struggled to the point that I would recommend that people attend this play, but not this production, in which different actors do different versions of the play.
Regrettably, I do not believe the acting and direction were precise and realistic enough to do the storyline justice. For instance, everyone was meant to be American, yet the lead actress, Julia Papp, who played the character Becca Corbet, struggled to maintain an American accent. The fact that her accent was dropping off made it incredibly disturbing for the viewer. Even some of her phrasing differed from the script because she stated it in a way that someone from an Eastern European country who speaks English as a second language would. I felt bad for her and the production because the audience was being distracted because of her acting.
The director should have put more effort into the casting selection. The primary male lead actor, Kim Hardy, who played for Howie Corbett, wasn't fantastic either; he tended to overact a little, which was unpleasant. On the other hand, the pregnant sister, who goes by the character Izzy, played by Ty Glasser, did an excellent job acting, maintaining her accent throughout the play without overacting, remaining credible as the sassy sister. You could even see a little character development, with her maturing a bit throughout the play. Even the young guy who inadvertently ran over the kid, Jason, played by Max Pemberton, was extremely fantastic; he played well as a really tight character.
Finally, the actress who played the mother, Nat, played by Emma Vansittart, who was always causing a commotion, did a fantastic job; her accent was also spot on. As a result, roughly half of the actors had major acting and presence issues.
And on top of that, there were some stage directing issues that the director didn't pick up on and correct with the actors. Some things that didn't make sense. For example, I looked up the play afterwards, and there was a scene where a lemon square was taken out of the fridge and brought to the boy, Jason, by the mother, Becca, and he took a bite of the lemon and said 'oh wow it still warm'. It had just come out of the fridge, so that didn't make much sense. After that, I reread the script, and it was meant to come out of the kitchen counter, where the mother had just baked it. Certain problems like that should have been obvious and readily addressed. For the audience, they were quite distracting. I paused there for a few moments, thinking, "How on earth is it still warm when it just came out of the fridge?" That wasn't the only time throughout the play that something similar happened.
Even with the props, that youngster, Jason, who was supposed to be 18 years old, tossed a comic book dedicated to the child he inadvertently murdered and handed it to the mother, who actually read through it. I was in the front row, so I could clearly see the comic book, which was more of a graphic novel that you might expect from a 5-year kid rather than an 18-year-old. I felt those things were really bad; I'd probably give it a 1 out of 5 rating because they were basic and should have been fixed easily. But, if I take everything into account, including the plot and storyline, I'd give it a 2 out of 5 rating. It's a pity since it's a fantastic story with great acting; it certainly deserves a 4 out of 5 rating, but unfortunately, terrible stage direction, props, and acting have reduced an otherwise excellent screenplay to a 1 out of 5 rating.
However, one thing I liked throughout the play was that the set was unique. There was netting over the main portion of the set with loads and loads of children's toys as if the missing child's memory was still there, and I thought it was a brilliant way of setting up the stage. However, those positive remarks were insufficient to compensate for the inconvenience caused by poor directing and selection of actors.
