White Rabbit Red Rabbit Explored the
Playwright-Actor-Audience Dynamic

I had the good fortune of being able to attend two of the six performances of Nassim Soleimanpour's White Rabbit Red Rabbit (described as "A play about contemporary Iran and power dynamics in the world") at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 24th, and Thursday, March 26th, in Burning Coal Theatre Company's Murphey School Auditorium in Raleigh. It's a one-actor piece unlike any that most people have ever experienced. On Tuesday night, producer Robert Clinton (of Threshold Arts, LLC of Wilmington, NC) was the actor; on Thursday night, it was Laurel Ullman.

Billed by Nassim Soleimanpour Productions as "Experimental Theatre," it premiered in 2011 in Edinburgh and Summerworks festival[s]. I would bill it as "quirky," "intriguing" and "unique," because there are: No rehearsals. No director. No set. Furthermore, a different actor reads the script cold for the first time at each performance; and each actor must meet a stringent qualification: they must never have seen a performance or read the script.

Soleimanpour's script includes the line: "I was born on Azar 19th, 1360 in Tehran. That's Tehran, December 10th, 1981 in Christian years...." And his website states: "Forbidden to leave his country, playwright Nassim Soleimanpour distilled the experience of an entire generation in a wild, utterly original play ... White Rabbit Red Rabbit.... In 2016, the [play's] Off-Broadway run ... featured outrageous moments!"

The tongue-twistery nature of the title (try saying it fast three times) suggests a labyrinthine quality, a piece that requires intense audience concentration and deep thought. The inclusion of "rabbit" in the title evokes such phrases as "down the rabbit hole," "quick as a rabbit," "the rabbit died," and "pull a rabbit out of a hat." The juxtaposition of red against white suggests commentary on minority experiences.

Does white stand for purity? Does red convey images of blood?

The Play:

The actor steps onto the stage and opens a sealed envelope in which they find the script. Then they begin reading Soleimanpour's text (which requires that, anytime they speak words that do not appear in the script, they must make it known).

What happens next includes an exploration of the nature of the playwright-actor-audience dynamic. Is the story an extended metaphor? Does it have a beginning, a middle, and an end? Is there a moral to the story?

The Acting:

The nature of the script requires strong improvisational skills, lots of empathy, and a knack for keeping an audience engaged in order to tell the stories that the play conveys. Both Ullman and Clinton rose to the occasion.

Terri Crymes, Natalie Blackman, Natalie Turgeon, and Jay Zadeh were the the other four performers. I am sure that their skill sets resulted in shows that were just as entertaining and provocative.

The Tech:

The set consists of a stepladder, a chair, and a table. The only props are two glasses of water (half-full), a bottle containing white powder, and a spoon. (All of these items are specified by the playwright.) Lighting is a general wash, and the only sound is that generated by the actor's voice. As minimalist as this may sound, it is sufficient and apt.

Nice Touches:

Sorry! Can't share any.

Memorable Lines:

Sorry! Can't share any.

From the Department of Picky-Picky:

Sorry! Can't share any.

The Bottom Line:

Nassim Soleimanpour's White Rabbit Red Rabbit provides roughly 60 minutes of entertainment, enlightenment, and insight. Further performances would be well-worth seeing. Be prepared for meditations on such subjects as conformity and learned behavior.

Threshold Arts is a welcome new face in the Triangle theater scene. Future productions by this company are also to be considered well-worth seeing.

Nassim Soleimanpour's WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT (In Person March 24-26) (Threshhold Arts, LLC in Burning Coal Theatre Company's Murphey School Auditorium in Raleigh). PRESENTER: https://www.nassimsoleimanpour.com/, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61584878503349, https://www.facebook.com/Nassim-Soleimanpour-Productions-971542072965819, https://www.instagram.com/nassim_soleimanpour/, and https://x.com/Nassproductions. VENUE: https://burningcoal.org/plan-your-visit/ and https://burningcoal.org/history-of-the-murphey-school/. WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT (2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and 2016 Off-Broadway drama): https://www.nassimsoleimanpour.com/whiterabbitredrabbit, https://web.archive.org/web/20181218084409/http://whiterabbitredrabbit.com/, https://web.archive.org/web/20250223025120/http://iobdb.com/Production/6174, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nassim_Soleimanpour#White_Rabbit_Red_Rabbit, https://x.com/WhiteRedRabbit. NASSIM SOLEIMANPOUR (Tehran, Iran-born playwright and screenwriter): https://www.nassimsoleimanpour.com/, https://web.archive.org/web/20230927161651/https://www.iobdb.com/CreditableEntity/47436, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8404423/, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nassim_Soleimanpour. INFORMATION: 910-585-3516 or robert@threshholdarts.com. PLEASE DONATE TO: Threshold Arts, LLC and Burning Coal Theatre Company. [RUN HAS CONCLUDED.]

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