art – The Coburg Meddler

How to Eat Rabbit

Upcoming play ‘How To Eat Rabbit’ finds an unconventional rehearsal space in the ex-grocery store Dukkana. Dukkana is hosting two weeks of rehearsals for the local playwright’s newest production before the show commences its run at La Mama Theatre as part of the Hope Punk Climate Festival (8 – 11 September 2026).

On Thursdays and Fridays 11am-4pm, starting 13 August, the community is able to wander in to watch and learn from writer and producer, Jamila Main, and director Lilah Benetti.

Jamila explains the unorthodox decision as coming from three places.

The first is a respect for the ethos of Dukkana (99-101 Harding St), which readers might know as the old Sheikhtaba’s grocery store turned-community hub run by the owner’s artist children. Dukkana centres the SWANA community in everything it does. You can see it in the communal library, the art on the walls and the events they run.

The second reason for running rehearsals at Dukkana is a goal to reduce the barriers to entry for people interested in putting on a play themselves. Jamila explained to the Meddler: ‘If people can see how these rehearsals work, the idea is that they’ll be able to come out of the experience saying: oh, I can do that’.

Finally, Jamila explained, director Lilah is drawn towards ‘sustainable engagement’ – that is, an interest in working within and for the immediate community. ‘How can we make a play more than just one night where you sit down, watch the show, and then leave?’ Jamila asks.

How to Eat Rabbit, is a dystopian comedy about climate catastrophe, isolation, illness and survival. Jamila wrote the first draft of the play in 2019, and it has gone through four developments over the years. The set required Jamila to gather hundreds of tins from the community. In the spirit of sustainable engagement, the team is seriously considering putting on a mega meal at the end of it all, so that the set may literally be digested by the actors and the audience together.

Jamila, a die hard Coburgian, said it’s a shame there are no real theatre space options locally. Maybe not for long. The new designs for the Coburg Library that can be found on the Merri-Bek Council website state that level 3 is going to have a multipurpose hall. Perhaps community theatre enthusiasts could write to the Council and make sure that space is adequately soundproofed to be appropriate for a community production. Jamila says any good theatre space needs to accommodate a good scream.

Jamila is in discussions with publishers for the play, so if you can catch the magic of this play early you can brag about seeing it before it was cool.

By Eddie Snagge

DUKKANA AT THE OLD HASSOONS

By Eddie Snagge

The Meddler visited the new pop-up on a rainy Sunday and found Fatima, one of the sisters who run it, cleaning. She welcomed us in, saying that the pop-up would formally be open next week and run until February. “We chose the end of February more so as a pitch to our father, who owned and ran the shop”. The previous Sheikhtaba Grocery/Hassoons Cafe closed four years earlier and the space has been vacant since.

The plan, according to Fatima, was to run the old store as a place for community. The transience of the space was important to keep the fabric of the neighbourhood, but the future of Dukkana is ultimately being played by ear. “Our father is proud of us and the work we’ve put into this” said Fatima, when commenting on the experience of helping out in their father’s business as younger girls, and now taking over the space as an artistic, community-oriented project.

During the weeks that they are open, the sisters are running a schedule of art and community events. In the first week, there was an admin/co-working day, a ‘hang out’ day, and a decorative fruit platter workshop. The following week, there was embroidery and photography. On 21 February, Dukkana is hosting an art fair from 6pm-9pm.

Dukkana has a large lounge space for people to talk, read and play cards, and an exhibition space displaying various artists. The sisters have used the old bain-marie to showcase Safa’s (one of the sisters) embroidery business and designs.

In the back, there’s a ‘sister’s closet’ section, referencing the phenomenon of the shared sibling wardrobe.

Charming still is the artwork paying homage to the Sheikhtaba grocery, with artwork of fruit and veggies populating old fruit stalls.

Dukkana pop up
99 Harding Street, Coburg 3058