A Rabbit for Kim Jong-il

Word leaked out from the rehearsal floor that this play was a barrel of laughs  (or maybe a burrow) and the rumour was on the money.  The premise was preposterous and just a little true. German rabbit breeder Johann Wertheim has attracted the attention of the “Dear Leader” Kim Jong-il \, who  dispatches his agent to bring back a prized a giant rabbit, no matter what the cost.

Wertheim (Steve Rodgers) has childlike enthusiasm for his bunnies. Extracting the furry friend from him takes every bit of charm and bullying from special agent Chung Dae-Hyun played deliciously by Kaeng Chan.

“Rabbits don’t talk Mr Wertheim…they keep their stupid mouths shut or they get whacked on the head with a shovel…learn to be a rabbit.”

From Berlin, the action moves to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea where Johann appears out of his depth, but with rat cunning and help from his pet shop owning side kick Sophie Amsel (Kate Box) hatches a rescue plot.

They have to get through another sinister loyal lieutenant of the dear leader Chung Dae-Hyun (Kaeng Chan).

Playwright Kit Brookman gives himself the sweetest role – Felix the Rabbit.

“When I was a kitten, when my whole world was barn and straw and my mother’s warm body. I would never imagine that I would see what I have seen. I have travelled across half the world and met so many different people.”

It becomes a little odd when the female agent wags her ‘tail’ over Felix.

The 100 minute ‘comic-thriller’ could also have been helped with a trim or an interval.

But even so the fast paced action and farcical glimpse into one of the strangest countries on earth left the audience happy little bunnies.

David Spicer

Carol Wimer also saw A Rabbit for Kim Jong-il during its season at Parramatta Riveride.

The folk at Riverside work successfully hard to attract a variety of theatre to their three stages, and this performance from Griffin is no exception. The packed opening night audience resoundingly endorsed all of the accolades the production and its playwright have received. Based on an unbelievably true story, Kit Brookman has created a piece of theatre that is funny but remarkably touching. All the qualities of a good play are here – economic dialogue, pace, humour, pathos, strong characters, climax and anticlimax – but there is also the depth that one expects of Brookman based on his other plays … and his poetry.

Earlier reviews cover the plot and Lee Lewis’ production in detail, and the stalwart performances of Steve Rodgers, Kate Box, Kaeng Chan, Meme Thorne and Kit Brookman himself as the giant rabbit, Felix, who has been bought, nefariously, for North Korea’s ‘Dear Leader’. The set and lighting translates beautifully from the Stables stage to that of the Lennox theatre. The intimacy of both brings the performers close enough to the audience to make the emotion, the humour, the cruelty and the satire as poignant as the writing. Brookman is a talented writer and performer – and his depiction of Felix finds all the nuances he has hidden in the rabbit’s lines.

Carol Wimmer

Photographer: Brett Boardman