Rabbit, Rabbit’ not for the prudish
The second-floor banquet room of the Guv’nor Inn on Elizabeth Avenue is an unexpected — though not disagreeable — venue for thespian activity.
It is currently the production site of a provocative, two-handed play entitled “Rabbit, Rabbit,” an incantation that apparently may be invoked as a good-luck charm.
In a large and well-dressed bedroom, a bubbly, blonde, and petite Britney, dressed in off-the-shoulder blouse, short skirt, and colourful pants, makes a living as a young, sexy-talking prostitute. Her current client, Larry, a clown dressed in full costume, with barrel and hula-hoop pants, check jacket, orange and green hair, and painted face, caters to children’s birthday parties, when he is not trying to resolve his sexual issues and fundamental lack of confidence.
Meghan Greeley fashions a luminous portrayal of the cute and talkative sex-kitten, as she tries to engage with Darryl Hopkins’ brooding, loud-mouthed, sexually inexpert, and ultimately frustrated Cosmo the Clown.
Greeley and Hopkins play off one another expertly, comically, and even touchingly.
In this adult comedy, X-rated language is sexually explicit and highly descriptive. Salty dialogue abounds and is certainly not for the prudish, nor for the kiddies. Yet, while there are passages of kissing, groping, and ungenteel language, mostly the clown and the courtesan simply “natter,” confiding in one another, regressing to childhood games and a balloon poodle, and finally, returning to the status quo ante.
Smoothly directed by Shannon Hawes, the Poverty Cove Theatre Company production of Canadian playwright Amy Lee Lavoie’s “Rabbit, Rabbit” — written while she was a first-year student at the National Theatre School in Montreal — continues until May 4 at the Guv’nor Inn on Elizabeth Ave., starting at 8 p.m., with an additional 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday. Running time is 80 minutes, with no intermission, and with advance tickets available at the LSPU Hall.
Rumour has it that this first theatrical production will not be the last in the Guv’nor’s elegant 50-seat theatre, where you can sip on your wine or beer brought from the bar below while taking in the play above.