Images: Bernie Ng, Christopher Frape, Sarah Walker, Hideto Maezawa, Zhang Yuan
Bunny
In Bunny, Luke George and Daniel Kok exploit the physical properties of rope and knots to unpick the boundaries of desire, trust, consent and communion between artist and audience. In order to unravel shared lines of connection, to suspend tension and to unleash collective desires, Kok and George look to macramé, sailors’ knots, Chinese knots and rope bondage to weave together an interactive experience of collectivity. "Bunny" is a nickname given to the person being tied in rope bondage. In this work, we ask ourselves this question: What if everyone (in the theatre) is a Bunny?
“Some works win you over immediately. Others seduce you. Others still you have to surrender to. The latter was, appropriately, the case with Bunny, a work inspired by bondage culture. Hypnotic and sublime, this was not a work for everyone. Some colleagues adored it, others found it confronting, even triggering. I found it to be ‘an intimate exploration of trust and acquiescence, artistry and sensuality, queerness and play; thrilling, exquisite and compelling.’” — Richard Watts / Arts Hub (Nationwide)
‘Watts’ 10 Outstanding Shows in 2017’
“Some works win you over immediately. Others seduce you. Others still you have to surrender to. The latter was, appropriately, the case with Bunny, a work inspired by bondage culture. Hypnotic and sublime, this was not a work for everyone. Some colleagues adored it, others found it confronting, even triggering. I found it to be ‘an intimate exploration of trust and acquiescence, artistry and sensuality, queerness and play; thrilling, exquisite and compelling.’” — Richard Watts / Arts Hub (Nationwide)
‘Watts’ 10 Outstanding Shows in 2017’
“How to explain to anyone not fortunate enough to witness Luke George and Daniel Kok’s Bunny that a show that involves tying up audience members in neon ropes and rolling on the floor with a fire extinguisher could be the most tender, exquisitely emotive show of TBA this year? The sweetness of our shared experience as we audience members bound and loosened each other made for a particular, intimate communion. George and Kok served as both guides and participants, teaching trust and consent as they too were constrained and contained, held in neon sailor knots as they played with the boundaries of desire and aesthetic value. And in one glorious moment of release, they broke into a joyous, choreographed dance — a duck-walking, neon-braid-swinging catharsis.”
Fiona McCann, Portland Monthly (Portland, U.S.A.) — “Our Top 8 Moments From TBA”
Fiona McCann, Portland Monthly (Portland, U.S.A.) — “Our Top 8 Moments From TBA”
CREDITS
Artists
Daniel Kok & Luke George
Dramaturgy
Tang Fu Kuen
Lighting Design
Matthew Adey / House of Vnholy
Creation Producers (2014–2016)
Alison Halit, Tang Fu Kuen
Touring Producer (2016–2019)
Alison Halit
International Distribution
Something Great
Bunny was commissioned by Campbelltown Arts Centre, co-produced by The Substation with support from the Australia Council for the Arts, the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria, Abrons Arts Centre, the Playking Foundation, Singapore International Foundation and the National Arts Council, Tanzfabrik.