Review Roundup: What Did the Critics Think of WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT @sohoplace?

Each night a completely new adventure awaits – depending on how the author’s words compel each actor to perform. Internationally acclaimed White Rabbit Red Rabbit, by Iranian writer Nassim Soleimanpour, is a theatrical adventure embracing comedy and tragedy. An edge of your seat experience with some of the UK’s most extraordinary talent.

Experimental drama at its best. See what happens with no rehearsal, no director, a different actor each night and a script waiting in a sealed envelope on the stage.

What did the critics think?

White Rabbit Red Rabbit runs @sohoplace until 9 November

Mica Blackwell, BroadwayWorld: 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.

Dave Fargnoli, The Stage: On press night, the text was interpreted by Nick Mohammed – perhaps best known under his uproariously funny, utterly obnoxious comic alter ego Mr Swallow. Though that character is overbearing and egotistical, here Mohammed displays striking generosity, dropping in just a few judicious comic pauses and nervous, sidelong looks to heighten the humour without ever disrespecting the play’s conceit or drawing focus from Soleimanpour’s text.

Marianka Swain, The Telegraph: Soleimanpour’s writing is very meta, looping around to interrogate the act of a performer interpreting and communicating the work to an audience. It challenges us to analyse our natural responses: do we start to think of Mohammed as the author, and how much is our view of Soleimanpour shaped by him? Mohammed, who is an astonishingly good cold-reader and delightful company, certainly lent the author his charm, and – for better or worse – an eagerness to put us at ease. Other performers may revel in the uncomfortableness of the situation.

Holly O'Mahony , London Theatre: Mohammed nails both the humour and the sorrow. He takes the script at a lick, for the most part, but when one anecdote takes a particularly dark turn, he falls silent and walks for several paces against the slowly rotating stage, giving the revelation a moment to fully resonate. Tomorrow night’s actor will respond differently, as will whoever who picks up the envelope after them, and the actors who bravely sign up to future revivals in years to come. It’s a cleverly timeless piece, echoing authoritarian oppression the world over.

Anya Ryan, The Times: Reviewers are also requested to keep the secrets of White Rabbit Red Rabbit. But what I can say is that it deals in themes of oppression, identity and what it means to be free. Animal metaphors are used as the foundation of the story; they are poignant but also bewildering, which is part of Soleimanpour’s plan. Like the actor each evening, the audience also has to experience the theatrical unknown.

Average Rating: 80.0%