Rabbit Hole
by David Lindsay-Abaire
Aug 25th and 26th
7-10 pm
The Story
Rabbit Hole is the story of Becca and Howie, the parents of four-year old Danny, killed eight months before in a road accident, as they struggle to heal in different ways in the life after Danny. They are aided and aggravated by Becca’s loving but chaotic sister, Izzy, and her tactless mother, Nat. Becca is blind-sided by Izzy’s pregnancy, reminding her of her own loss. Jason, the young man involved in the accident also has a role to play in all of this; Howie and Becca see his overtures of apology very differently. It’s a very moving play that will bring an audience to tears but will also give them the saving grace of laughter in good measure. The humour comes from truthful observation of flawed people rather than one-liners or comedic situations.
Characters: Ages listed reflect how the character should appear onstage, not necessarily the age of the actor.
Becca (late 30’s/early 40’s) Becca is a complicated woman, sharply funny, defensive, angry inside, grieving, of course, and increasingly aggressive. She is struggling for control of emotions that cannot be contained. She’s the woman she was before the accident, the woman she is in the wake of her son’s death, and the woman she could be if she survives this.
Howie (30’s-40’s) Howie is more emotionally accessible than his wife. He’s more open to his grief, more able to express it, to talk about it and to see how it affects other people. He’s driven to watch tapes of his son in secret, to avoid hurting his wife. He’s trying to bring Becca back to who they were, but he’s losing patience. He’s still holding anger that comes out when Jason drops by.
Izzy (early 30’s) Izzy is Becca’s sister, starting out in a romantic relationship that has been complicated by her unexpected pregnancy, a pregnancy that Becca finds hard to reconcile with Izzy’s bar-hopping, casual lifestyle that doesn’t preclude punching another woman.
Nat (mid-60’s, Becca and Izzy’s Mother) Nat also lacks impulse control and a filter, at least not with a full glass of wine in her hand. She is a fount of inappropriate advice and opinions, but she’s not always wrong. She also lost her son when he was in his 20’s.
Jason (age given in the script as 17) Jason still carries some guilt for the accident that was not his fault; sensitive enough to ask permission to dedicate a short story to Danny, but not enough to realize he can’t stop by the house to talk. Not a crier. A good kid who hasn’t lived a lot.