Bunny
Artists: Daniel Kok and 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
Commissioned: Campbelltown Arts Centre (2016)
Images: Bernie Ng, Christopher Frape, Sarah Walker, Hideto Maezawa, Zhang Yuan,
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?
Performances
Sep 2019 - Théåtre Garonne | ThéâtredelaCité | laBiennale Toulouse | Toulouse, France
Sep 2019 - Taipei Arts Festival | Taiwan
Aug 2019 - Ming Contemporary Art Museum | Shanghai, China
June 2019 - Venice Biennale / Biennale Danza 2019 | Venice, Italy
May 2019 - SPRING Festival | Utrecht, Netherlands
Feb 2019 - Usine C | Montréal, Canada/Quebec
Dec 2018 - December Dance | Concertgebouw | Brugge, Belgium
Apr 2018 - Tanzquartier Wien | Vienna, Austria
Sep 2017 - T.B.A. Festival | Portland Institute of Contemporary Art | Portland, U.S.A.
Feb 2017 - Arts House | AsiaTOPA Asia-Pacific Triennial of Performing Arts | Melbourne, Australia
Sep 2016 - OzAsia Festival 2016 | Adelaide, Australia
Apr 2016 - Abrons Arts Center | New York City, U.S.A.
Feb 2016 - TPAM / Yokohama Performing Arts Meeting 2016 | Yokohama
Jan 2016 - Premiere | Campbelltown Arts Centre | Sydney, Australia
Nov 2015 - Installation/Preview | Dance Barents Festival | Hammerfest, Norway
Sep 2015 - Pre-Premiere/Preview | The Substation | Singapore
Recognition
Bunny - Green Room Award nomination for Best Production in Contemporary & Experimental Performance
Supporters
Bunny was commissioned by Campbelltown Arts Centre (AUS), co-produced by The Substation (SIN) with support from the Australia Council for the Arts, the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria, Abrons Arts Centre (NYC), the Playking Foundation (AUS), Singapore International Foundation and the National Arts Council (SIN), Tanzfabrik (BER).
Reviews
“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'