Review: WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT, @sohoplace

In 2010 Iranian writer Nassim Soleimanpour was banned from travelling after refusing to participate in mandatory military service. In his isolation, the result was his first English language play White Rabbit Red Rabbit.

With the basic premise of an actor receiving the script onstage with no direction or idea of its content, Soleimanpour’s play has gripped audiences across the globe in over 20 languages. In a major new production, @sohoplace’s run star-studded line-up includes many famous faces across stage, screen and music including Richard Gadd (Baby Reindeer), Minnie Driver, Michael Sheen and Olly Alexander who are sure to cause a stir.

It’s interesting writing a review where I’m not allowed to reveal the content and literally every performance is different from the next. However, that’s also what makes it so enthralling. Less of a traditional play and more an abstract experiment, every actor may be given free rein to deliver the material however they choose as they play messenger to the words on the page, but it’s Soleimanpour’s thought-provoking writing that remains consistent.

With the content warning openly stating White Rabbit Red Rabbit is designed to ‘make [the audience] think for many days to come’, Soleimanpour pushes the envelope of what theatre can do and how audiences respond to it with humour one minute and seriousness the next. While we as spectators are given the comfort, ergo trust, of a celebrity we are familiar with (or perhaps their public persona) in the case of the @sohoplace run, certain boundaries are crossed that make us question our faith in them, to say nothing about our complacency and free will.

Soleimanpour states in the programme notes that White Rabbit Red Rabbit ‘could take place anywhere.’ Performed in every location from a warzone to a school in previous productions, @sohoplace is stripped bare, with a chair and table holding two water glasses centre of a revolving stage. The script in a glossy red envelope feels like an omen of what’s to come, as everyone’s curiosity took over.

The mammoth task of reading Soleimanpour’s script fell on the shoulders of actor/comedian Nick Mohammed (Ted Lasso) for press night. Alleviating the audiences' fears with a deep sigh at the start, he jumps right in with the confidence only found in a comedian of his calibre. Even when inserting laugh-inducing ad-libs and embracing the silliness, his down-to-earthness was striking as he regaled the script's more dramatic moments, pregnant pauses leaving everyone gripped. There’s an element of sadness that Mohammed will only perform this once.

Beyond its simple gimmick, White Rabbit Red Rabbit remains a refreshingly authentic piece of theatre in a time when even the most improvised works have an element of rehearsal. Taking basic concepts of human nature and flipping them on our heads, I was on the edge of my seat for this press performance. All I can say now is I’m intrigued what every other performer will do with Soleimanpour’s script moving forward.

White Rabbit Red Rabbit runs @sohoplace until 9 November