Pulling Rabbits Out of Hats

‘He withholds the pleasure of comprehension from the audience, and drip feeds it to them, invoking that “Aughh” from them all as something clicks into place, making his plays immensely involving to watch, as you, like in a thriller, add the pieces together, bit by bit, until the circle meets its corresponding end …’


In Pulling Rabbits Out of Hats, Melissa Reeves presents a contemporary response to a treasured Australian play – a personal and captivating take on Speaking in Tongues by Andrew Bovell. 


Pulling Rabbits Out of Hats is part of Cue the Chorus, a series of ten thought-provoking responses to classic Australian stories. The other titles in the series are:


1. An Ever-Changing Idiom by Alana Valentine – a response to Summer of the Seventeenth Doll by Ray Lawler


2. The Makings of a Man by John Harding – a response to No Sugar by Jack Davis


3. Playing Awkward by Noëlle Janacewska – a response to The Chapel Perilous by Dorothy Hewett


4. Radiant Women on Radiant Country by Andrea James – a response to Radiance by Louis Nowra


5. Robin Shall Restore Amends by Hilary Bell – a response to Away by Michael Gow


6. Still Waters by Wesley Enoch – a response to The Secret River by Kate Grenville; an adaptation for the stage by Andrew Bovell


7. The Unexpected Feminist by Van Badham – a response to The Removalists by David Williamson


8. What Goes Around Comes Around by Kate Mulvany – a response to Hotel Sorrento by Hannie Rayson


9. A Youth Presumed by Finegan Kruckemeyer – a response to Blackrock by Nick Enright