Run Rabbit and Melon Double Bill Review: Sunburnt Productions Co at Flight Path
- Ashlyn Hunter
- 12 hours ago
- 3 min read
I can’t say I’ve ever attended a double-bill show before. I walked into this experience with no expectations or real understanding of how this might play out, yet nothing could’ve prepared me for the whirlwind these solo performances took me on.
Victoria Abbott kicked the night off on a blinding high with Run Rabbit. Her use of physical comedy was downright absurd in the best way. Not to mention that it matched her quick and fiery wit so profusely that the entire audience was in non-stop hysterics. Abbott created a vibrant atmosphere from the beginning of my night and it only continued by developing this roller coaster ride that takes you from comedy to tragedy; except it was the kind of ride that wasn’t so much a shock but rather a glide where one minute I was laughing and the next I was tearing up and asking myself, “well - how did I get here?”.
Audience interaction ran all throughout this piece. Abbott doesn’t just invite you along for the ride - she drags you into the driver’s seat and lets you steer. It created this connection from myself to all other audience members in a way I’m sure most in the auditorium hadn’t felt before, but somehow Abbott flawlessly hand-wove this camaraderie between us all.
I will mention that for some of the more introverted people this could sound like a mild shock to the system, but all the audience members did a very impressive job at interacting with Abbott. I put this down to her ability to make even someone shy (aka me, who was quite literally petrified when fourth wall play was mentioned) be comfortable talking or interacting with a performer on stage.
But that was the excitement of the night - you didn’t know which way it was going to go at times. It brought me to really appreciate an actor’s professionalism and ability to improvise so gracefully. There were no mistakes or mishaps, only opportunities to see where Abbott would take us.
Beneath all these laughs sat a fury and frustration at the violent experience of simply existing as a woman. Her intense longing for a changed world rid of corrupt and violated systems left me wanting to charge out the theatre and knock on Parliament’s door myself. It was bigger than just watching a play; it was an interaction with the world and its disruptive politics that are laced through history and stay with us today.
As the end of Abbott’s performance came, a short intermission gave me the ability to compose myself and move through to Ella Randle's Melon.
Amber Gilmour captured me from the second she walked onto the stage and that feeling stayed with me even after she left.
Melon tracks how a recreational weed habit can quickly and quietly snowball into an all-consuming addiction and battle with life-long recovery. We watch ‘Mal’s’ internal contemplation of how something can turn from an innocent, “I’m 18! Everyone’s doing this” to a desolate, “I don’t know how I got here”.
The life and raw grief of a recovering drug addict is not an easy subject to tackle, let alone an easy story to tell. I was struck by Gilmour’s gut-wrenching ability to pull me deep into the addiction with her to a point I was also contemplating how she got here. I guess when life is moving so fast, you don’t realise how things take shape until you look back in retrospect.
To sum up all this contemplation, ’Mal’ couldn’t have said it better herself, “no one chooses to step in shit”.
I was enamoured by Gilmour seamlessly flipping between three distinct characters, embodying them so completely that it felt like I was watching separate people come alive and then vanish into thin air. Although a deeply faulty character at times, ‘Mal’s’ honest and raw guilt coupled with ‘what-could-have-beens’ hooks you until the very end. Truthfully, I could’ve stayed in that chair for another hour (even though my back was starting to hurt after two shows).
Although so different in concept and approach, these pieces worked so well one-after-the-other. Both productions had me on the edge of my seat, shedding tears and wanting to hold my loved ones closer as I drove home. I couldn’t have asked for a more explorative night - from bellows of laughter to some stray tears, I would give this double-bill six stars if I could!
Grab tickets for both shows here
