Espionage! Dictators! Rabbits! The bizarre and suspenseful world of actor and writer Kit Brookman’s new play, A Rabbit for Kim Jong-il, comes to Parramatta’s Riverside Theatres from the 25th to 28th November after captivating audiences at the Griffin Theatre Company. Based on a true event, the play tells the story of a humble German rabbit farmer’s encounter with Kim Jong-il’s North Korea. I caught up with Kit for a quick chat about the work that also features actors Kate Box, Steve Rodgers, Kaeng Chan, Meme Thorne, Brookman himself, and direction by Lee Lewis.
A Rabbit for Kim Jong-il by Kit Brookman
So Kit, how did you come to the idea? What were the seeds for this show?
Well where it all started was with the story I guess, because the play’s based on a true story. So it was just hearing the story of this man who had sold his rabbits to North Korea and just becoming fascinated I guess. It seemed to me that within this story of a man selling rabbits to North Korea, apparently for a breeding program, and then ending up getting eaten by Kim Jong-il, and as far as we know those details are true, it just seemed to me to encapsulate within that story one particular aspect which I guess is the sort of horrific selfishness of that regime where you have a country that’s in famine and the supreme leader is feasting on these giant rabbits. So the sort of disjuncture I guess, between those two things kind of fascinated me, and so it was very much, the writing of the play, was kind of very much driven by the story really more than anything else in terms of kind of, I guess, structure or form. It was simply following the demands of the story rather than seeking out specifically something that was structured in a particular way, or that played with form in a particular way.
I guess something that struck me as I was watching it was that there didn’t seem to be any sort of cynicism in the writing which I really appreciated, because I imagine when you’re doing something about North Korea and this terrible person it might be quite easy to fall into a kind of, a very sort of cynical, fascial kind of thing. But there was very much a kind of human element to the writing that came through, and it’s almost a kind of David and Goliath story or something.
Yeah.
Do you kind of see it as a particularly political piece of theatre?
I think all theatre is political in some way. I don’t think this is, you know, the play’s not intended to be an explicit or realistic portrayal of events in North Korea, so insofar as real world politics I would say no. However I think that the questions that it asks are political questions to do with responsibility and forgiveness and that thing that you mentioned of sincerity and the lack of cynicism or a lack of irony. I think we live in a time where the reflex to irony or cynicism to explain terrible things is a really common one because we’re so sort of, I guess, over-exposed to terrible things that happen and it can be really hard to maintain a sense of optimism or sincerity in the face of that. And I think it’s really important to.
On a slightly different note, how is it acting in something you’ve written? I imagine that is quite a different experience than – I mean obviously you’re an actor and a writer and you have many hats – but to wear two hats at the same time?
Yeah well it not something I’ve ever done before, acting in my own work, so it was a tricky negotiation at the beginning to be honest. I kind of found it immensely frustrating for a few weeks. Not being able to entirely focus on either thing, having the actor in me wanting to forget about the responsibility of having to fix the writing of the play and the writer in my just wishing I could sit outside it completely! So it was a tricky balancing act but I’ve come to really enjoy it over the course of the run. So yeah it was sort of strange, I felt like I was slightly split in half for a few weeks but it’s come to end up in an alright place.
Definitely, definitely. Ok great, well I don’t want to take up too much of your time so just one final thought. You know, the old guys out now, and the new guy’s in – so any plans for a sequel?
Oh golly, I don’t have any plans for one. I can’t quite see it happening any time soon but look, I fervently hope that there’s no need for a sequel!
You can catch A Rabbit for Kim Jong-il at Riverside Theatres, corner of Church and Market Streets, Parramatta from 25th to 28th November at 7:30pm (as well as a matinee performance at 2:15pm on 28th November)
Tickets: Adult $49 / Conc $44 / 30 and Under $35 / Child Under 16 $25
Bookings: From the Box Office (02) 8839 3399 or www.riversideparramatta.com.au
Ryan McGoldrick
