It started with a nightmare.
βI killed myself on stage in front of an audience that included my parents,β Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour said describing the dream in an interview with The Guardian.
When he wrote it in 2010, Soleimanpour had had his passport taken away because he had refused to serve in the military. He was a geographic prisoner, a sort of nightmare in itself.
So he wrote βWhite Rabbit Red Rabbit,β which Invisible Theatre stages over four nights, each night with a different actor.
And here are a few more nightmarish things about it: The actors have no rehearsal, there is no director or set, and they donβt see the script until they step onstage to perform it.
And get this: That play, that concept, has won hearts and minds around the world. It has been translated into more than 20 languages and been performed by some of the biggest names in theater today, including Daniel Radcliffe, Cynthia Nixon, F. Murray Abraham and Brian Stokes Mitchell.
While it is a play for one actor, that performer wonβt always be alone on stage: audience members are invited to come up and join the actor.
No one is allowed to talk about it β theater lovers obey instructions like that β so we canβt tell you what itβs about.
But hereβs what weβve gleaned from what weβve read: It is an absurdist comedy. The actor must imitate an animal β though we donβt think that will be a red or white rabbit. There is a glass of water on stage that is said to be poison.
The actor gets to take any approach that appeals.
Sound nuts? Maybe. But it has been praised and praised again. This review from the New York Times is in sync with what others have written about it: βA playful, enigmatic and haunting show that takes on a gravity that prickles your skin, and keeps taking unexpected turns that often lead us back to the relief of laughter. Any worthy theatrical experience is a dive down into a rabbit hole, where the destination is unknown. The distinction of βWhite Rabbit Red Rabbitβ is that the performer moves right alongside us on the journey.β
Roberto Guajardo performs the 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21 show; Toreenee Wolfβs turn is 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22; David Alexander Johnston performs it at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, and Lucille Petty is on at 7:30 p.m. that evening. Performances are at Invisible Theatre, 1400 N. First Ave. Tickets are $35 at 882-9721 or invisibletheatre.com.
