The Year of the Rabbit, produced by Ensemble Studio, is a play about two young airforce pilots who are partners, so they inevitably fall in love but have to wrestle with their personal agendas, their past, their notions of themselves and about who they want to be.
The tensions between this couple bring up ethical dilemmas about war and about how crucial seconds can lead to a lifetime with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Through their parents, we also learn about the atrocities of the Vietnam War (leading us to believe that the young couple must be fighting in the Gulf War). We learn about their upbringing about how that history informs their behavior, their beliefs, their drive.
I loved the theme of the rabbit and how it's woven throughout. One of the main characters learns to morph into a different person, acquiring different skills throughout her life - skills and behaviors that match the Chinese zodiac ... all, of course, leading up to the year of the rabbit, which is when the male airforce pilot dies.
The rabbit, we come to learn, is his symbol. He carries a rabbit's foot for good luck, which he got from his mother, and he has a rabbit on his helmet. But the rabbit is ever-present, in Alice in Wonderland allusions and even a very subtle Beatrix Potter reference (for those who don't know, Beatrix Potter was a Victorian writer who wrote The Tales of Peter Rabbit).
Beautifully, tenderfully acted, with realistic, heartfelt dialogue, this play explores themes of guilt, death, regret, and how to move on.
The tensions between this couple bring up ethical dilemmas about war and about how crucial seconds can lead to a lifetime with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Through their parents, we also learn about the atrocities of the Vietnam War (leading us to believe that the young couple must be fighting in the Gulf War). We learn about their upbringing about how that history informs their behavior, their beliefs, their drive.
I loved the theme of the rabbit and how it's woven throughout. One of the main characters learns to morph into a different person, acquiring different skills throughout her life - skills and behaviors that match the Chinese zodiac ... all, of course, leading up to the year of the rabbit, which is when the male airforce pilot dies.
The rabbit, we come to learn, is his symbol. He carries a rabbit's foot for good luck, which he got from his mother, and he has a rabbit on his helmet. But the rabbit is ever-present, in Alice in Wonderland allusions and even a very subtle Beatrix Potter reference (for those who don't know, Beatrix Potter was a Victorian writer who wrote The Tales of Peter Rabbit).
Beautifully, tenderfully acted, with realistic, heartfelt dialogue, this play explores themes of guilt, death, regret, and how to move on.
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