Articles - Rabbit Hole in the Philippines

Straight theater play

Funny and Emotionally Gripping: Red Turnip’s Rabbit Hole Review by Natalia Go

When we lose something or someone very important to us, it may seem like the end of the world. How we deal with grief may make or break us in the process, or change us into a completely different person. Losing a child is an extremely difficult test for couples to go through. Often, statistically, marriages don’t survive after the death of a child. The Rabbit Hole takes us into the most trying time of the lives of Becca and Howie, who recently lost their four-year-old son, Danny in an accident.

The play was very entertaining to watch despite its theme which, I think, is what would make this show successful. It was very light at first, which draws you into what has become of Becca (Agot Isidro) and Howie (Michael Williams) after their son, Danny died. The set is truly worth mentioning because it was very believable, especially in an intimate venue. Director, Topper Fabregas said that they practically had to “build a house on the stage” in order to make this type of play work, on the question and answer portion for the press after the preview – Friday, August 1st 2014. And they were very successful with that indeed. Everything, even the lights design and sounds, worked together to bring this home to life.

It starts out with Becca (Isidro) talking to her ever rebellious sister, Izzy (Che Ramos-Cosio) as Becca was sorting out her son’s clothes to be given away. They had a funny conversation which led to Izzy admitting that she was pregnant. This presented later on as a new challenge for Becca as she still might not be ready to face the fact that life goes on and now, her sister is about to have a child when she had just lost one.

Agot Isidro was very natural in her portrayal of this broken wife and mother who wanted to remain strong after the tragedy. Michael Williams pulls you in with his subtle yet compelling acting on how a supposedly strong man suffers in silence at the loss of his child; trying to hold on to whatever is left of him while his wife chooses to put away the toys and drawings, believing that it would be easier to move on that way. This is where the couple starts in disagreement with each other. It only shows that people have different grieving processes and what is logical and comforting to one person may seem cold or unreasonable to another. But it doesn’t make one person’s pain any less than the other. What’s important for viewers to know is that this is the kind of pain that is unimaginable and is something you would only understand if you’ve been there. And Agot Isidro and Michael Williams just make it so easily visible. It was very easy to empathize with either of the characters; both have brought me to tears in a couple of scenes. When asked about her process and if she took Becca’s character home with her, Agot replied without hesitation that in fact, she brings it home every day. “I got depressed!” Agot said. She said that there were times after rehearsing a scene that Michael would come up to her and hug her because it was too heavy.

Another interesting character on the play was Becca’s mother, Nat (Sheila Francisco) who shows us yet how another person deals with grief differently, having also lost her son (Becca’s brother). Sheila was the liveliest of all the actors and I have to say that it was such a treat to watch her. I remember one very moving scene between Sheila and Agot when Becca asked her mother if the pain or that “feeling” ever goes away. Nat said, “No… At some point, it just becomes bearable.”

The script in itself was very touching and funny, brought to life by this powerful ensemble and creatively directed by Topper Fabregas who is directing a play for the first time. There were a few minor technical problems like the lapel mics’ volume were too low so that you could barely hear the conversation in some scenes. There were also some scenes that were a bit dragging toward the end like the confrontation between Becca and Jason (Ross Pesigan), the kid who accidentally hit Danny by a car. I think they could still make that scene more interesting. Red Turnip’s Rabbit Hole is a really emotionally gripping play to watch that anyone who has ever suffered a loss in their lives will appreciate.

Natalia Go is a theater actor, writer, and singer.

"Rabbit Hole" opens on August 1, 2014 and runs all weekends of August. Log on to https://www.facebook.com/RedTurnipTheater for complete show schedules.

Tickets are available through TicketWorld (891-9999 or www.ticketworld.com.ph) or Red Turnip Theater (redturniptheater@gmail.com or https://www.facebook.com/RedTurnipTheater)

Notes from the company before the show:

CREATIVE STAFF
Direction: Topper Fabregas
Technical Direction & Lighting Design: John Batalla
Set Design: Faust Peneyra
Sound Design: Jethro Joaquin
Photos: Raul Montesa

MUSICALS ON LINE, August 2014.