What I liked
everything
What I didn't like
n/a
My overall impression
In a festival often fueled by novelty, shock, or sheer velocity, Michael Shaw Fisher delivers something more dangerous: a play that is smart, sharp, and strikingly complete.
The Secret Sex Life of Rabbits is that rare Fringe piece that feels fully formed—precise in its construction, unafraid of its boldness, and deeply attuned to the moment. The premise might be loaded with provocation (it is), and the title might invite assumptions (it does), but what unfolds on stage is a tightly-written hour that wrestles with modern sexual politics, moral exhaustion, and the lies we tell ourselves—all with ferocity, wit, and a disarming emotional backbone.
Fisher’s return to non-musical theatre is not just a shift in format; it’s a leap in authorship. The writing is lean and biting, the kind that manages to feel both timeless and very much of the now. He sets the trap with the bones of a living room comedy, then flips it, gutting the form and repurposing it into something angrier, funnier, and ultimately more human.
What elevates the material further is the direction—confident, rhythmic, and alive with tension. Every beat feels considered. The pacing never drags, the staging never distracts. There is purpose in every gesture, every movement across that deceptively simple space.
The cast? Not a weak link in sight. Each performer lands their moments with clarity and conviction. Their commitment to truth, even as the dialogue spirals into absurdity or confrontation, keeps the entire piece grounded. It’s a fine balance—heightened but never hollow, stylized but always sincere.
Is it shocking? At times. Is it funny? Often brutally so. But what lingers isn’t the shock or the sex—it’s the sorrow just beneath the surface, the longing, the fury, the way these characters wrestle with themselves and each other. There’s something almost tragic beneath the satire, something deeply recognizable. And that’s the mark of a play that matters.
Simply put: this is the work of an artist in full control of his voice. If you’ve ever doubted what a single room, four actors, and a furious pen can still do in 2025, go see The Secret Sex Life of Rabbits. It’s a masterclass.
