Rabbit And Watson
Rabbit And Watson
A celestial love story
Award-winning playwright Shane Woon (A Guide To Being Immortal) continues his exploration of Chinese mythology and Australian culture with an epic love story that transcends space and time. Mixing Chinese fantasy cinema, Boy Love drama and the AFL, his new play is a tender mythic story of love, identity, and the weight of expectation.
The Rabbit God Tu'er Shen has already died for love. Now he's the god of gay matchmaking, pairing soulmates with celestial red thread, while searching for the happily-ever-after he never got. Whenever his first love pops up in a new life, Rabbit abandons heaven to follow him, risking his powers and his reputation for just one perfect ending. The results have always been tragic, chaotic, and occasionally embarrassing. But now his long-lost lover has returned as Watson, a rising AFL player, and Rabbit is determined that in this lifetime love will finally go his way.
Directed by Keith Brockett, Rabbit & Watson is a celebration of Chinese Australian identity, blending myths carried across the oceans through an Australian lens and setting. From the football field to the media scrum to the celestial realm, this is a story about finding true love, and what comes after.
Playwright: Shane Woon
Director: Keith Brockett
Lighting & Sound Designer: Joe Paradise Lui
Lighting & Sound Design Associate: Lana Rosalea
Set & Costume Designer: Eugyeene Teh
Set & Costume Design Associate: Zena Wang
Intimacy Coordinator: Margot Fenley
Production & Stage Manager: Holland Brooks
Assistant Director: Tessie Yu
CREATIVE TEAM
Performers: Sean Yuen Halley, Anton Pan Cassin, Dr. Cindy Pan, Jesse Vasiladis, Charlie Morris, and Gabriel Partington
PERFORMED BY
“Keith Brockett’s direction is assured, with a strong understanding of how to utilise the performance space to expand the story’s mythology and scope.”
REVIEWS
“Rabbit & Watson confirms Shane Woon as a playwright with a distinct voice, confidently fusing Chinese mythology with contemporary Australian culture in an ambitious, richly imaginative and emotionally engaging new Australian work.”
“A thoughtful exploration of what it means to search for belonging while carrying the weight of history, family and tradition.”
