DIRECTOR’S NOTE
The rabbits came many grandparents ago.
The journey of creating the opera The Rabbits
has almost been as epic as the journey in the
book itself. This extraordinary piece of children’s
literature landed in my hands almost 15 years
ago and was my first introduction to both the
incredible visual world of Shaun Tan and the very
powerful and economic writing of John Marsden.
I was immediately entranced by the book and
spent many hours staring into each picture
finding new discoveries that then lead me toward
forming the stupid or brilliant—and certainly
nothing less then challenging—idea of creating
an opera / musical. Those hours turned into
weeks, months and, then years before we arrived
at where we are today. A sold out premiere
season and four Helpmann awards later I am
incredibly proud to have The Rabbits perform its
second season in the Melbourne Festival—our
commissio