The Rabbits – Opera Australia and Barking Gecko Theatre Company

Overview

First it was the children's book that stunned a generation into awareness. Australia's colonial history was powerfully, simply laid bare by the allegory of The Rabbits — arriving, multiplying and eventually controlling the peaceful native marsupials.

Now, it's an Australian-grown opera, dreamed up by John Sheedy, the artistic director of Perth's Barking Gecko Theatre Co. Before its premiere at last year's Perth Festival, Sheedy revealed why he had to make the show. “I was completely inspired, and in awe that, between Shaun Tan’s illustrations and John Marsden’s powerful and economic language, they tackled such huge themes," he told the Australian. "You can spend an hour on each page and make discovery after discovery ... The epic nature of the illustrations just lent itself to an opera.”

Two of our brightest female artists were enlisted to create the music and libretto: Kate Miller-Heidke (who also performs as the principal soprano) and Lally Katz, along with set and costume designer Gabriela Tylesova. From the looks of it, the expressively angular animals dwarfed by dusty landscapes look just as magical as Tan's. Indeed, the Perth, Melbourne and Sydney seasons saw The Rabbits applauded as an exceptionally brave, vital and moving work.