White Rabbit Red Rabbit by Nassim Soleimanpour

Will you participate? Will you be manipulated? Will you listen? Will you really listen?

With no rehearsals, no director, a different actor each night, and a script waiting in a sealed envelope on stage, internationally acclaimed White Rabbit Red Rabbit, by Iranian writer Nassim Soleimanpour, is an audacious theatrical experiment and a potent reminder of the transgressive and transformative power of theatre.

Forbidden to leave his native Iran, Soleimanpour wrote a play which travelled the world in his place. The audience joins each different performer on a journey into the unknown; stumbling upon the personal and profound, the limits of liberty and ultimately where theatre can take you. Since its joint premiere in 2011, the play has been translated into over 25 different languages and has been performed over 1000 times by some of the biggest names in theatre and film, including actors Whoopi Goldberg, Nathan Lane, John Hurt, Simon McBurney, Stephen Fry, Sinead Cusack, Marcus Brigstocke and Ken Loach.

White Rabbit Red Rabbit was originally produced by Volcano Theatre in association with Necessary Angel and Wolfgang Hoffmann. Dramaturgy by Daniel Brooks and Ross Manson. It will be performed in Canberra over four nights in February in the newly built Mill Theatre at Dairy Road. This 67 seat, intimate theatre has just been built by the Molonglo Group and technically fit out by Elite Event Technology. It is the first private enterprise theatre in the ACT. This is the second production for this independently run venue. Cast and creatives are paid and some members are part of the shadow-emerge-mentoree program which provides training for time.

Duration: 50 — 70 minutes (depending on audience interaction).

Audience suitability: 16+, Some mature content.

Note: The audience suitability has been risen to 16+. This play is NOT overtly political, and should not be portrayed as such. It operates on a deeper, metaphoric level, and very expressly avoids overt political comment. All media and press agents have to keep in mind that the playwright is an Iranian native. We therefore ask the press to be judicious in their reportage.

The Play

Visionary playwright Nassim Soleimanpour was denied a passport in his native Iran because of his status as a conscientious objector. Unable to travel, he decided to write a play which could travel the world in his place.

“White Rabbit Red Rabbit” requires no director or set, and a different actor must play the single role at every performance. This makes for a unique, thrilling experience for all. The audience joins a different performer each night on a journey into the unknown; stumbling upon the “personal and profound, riffing on the limits of liberty and exploring where theatre can take you, with or without a passport.”

On an otherwise bare stage there is a ladder, a table and a chair. On the table there are two glasses of water, a spoon, and an envelope containing the script. Told in the author’s voice and using allegorical animals to make its points about power and society, the play is described as intense, comic and unnerving. Despite the lack of director or rehearsals “White Rabbit Red Rabbit” is a powerful and audacious theatrical experiment that has been celebrated worldwide as one of the most astonishing evenings in theatre. Through audience participation as you’ve never seen it before, both audience and actor create a heartwarming, genuinely original piece that defies national boundaries, censorship and a longer description!

Since its joint premiere in 2011 in Edinburgh and Summerworks festival “White Rabbit Red Rabbit” has been translated into 15 different languages and been performed over 200 times by some of the biggest names in theatre and film including actors Arthur Darvill, Stephen Rea, John Hurt, Katie Dickie and Siobhan Redmond, comedians Sue Perkins, Phill Jupitus and Mark Watson, and film maker Ken Loach.

CREATIVES

Written by Nassim Soleimanpour, produced by Aurora Nova, performed by a different actor each night.

7:30pm Wednesday 15 February with PJ Williams

7:30pm Thursday 16 February with Stefanie Lekkas

7:30pm Saturday 18 February with Jay James-Moody

7:30pm Thursday 23 February with Elliot Cleaves

7:30pm Friday 24 February with Zsuzsi Soboslay

Co-producers: Zeke Chalmers and Lexi Sekuless

Major partner: Elite Event Technology

Event supporter: Events ACT

CAST BIOGRAPHIES

P.J. Williams is a stalwart of theatre in Canberra. Canberrans will remember him as Sir Toby in Lakespeare’s 2019 production of Twelfth Night as well as in Street Theatre productions of The Diary of A Madman and A Doll's House Part 2. Most recently he played El Ticho in Luis Gómez Romero & Desmond Manderson's Twenty Minutes With The Devil. His film credits include Tricky Business (2012), Beautiful (2010) and Jindabyne (2006). P.J.’s theatre skills have also extended to theatre directing and lighting design. He is a Canberra-based radio producer for the ABC.

Stefanie Lekkas is a Canberra-based actor, theatre-maker and voiceover artist. Her theatre credits include the sketch comedy show Plastic Bags Are So Bad (2011), the original site-specific, physical theatre shows SKIN (2015) and poem every day (2017) and plays such as Antigone (2016), Noises Off (2016), Metamorphosis (2019) and The Torrents (2022), to name a few. Stefanie has also performed with handmade felt puppets in Something Quirky This Way Comes (2020-21) and has been written for by a playwright in New York while being directed over video call for the award-winning virtual Off-Broadway show The Heroes and Villains Monologues (2021). What will be a very exciting first for her, however, is being handed a sealed envelope containing a script while the audience looks on! As such, Stefanie cannot wait to perform the mystery that is White Rabbit, Red Rabbit.

Jay James-Moody is an award-winning actor, director, writer and producer, is the Artistic Director of acclaimed boutique company Squabbalogic, was a co-founder of Sydney’s prestigious Hayes Theatre Co, and professionally debuted in Jerry Springer The Opera at the Sydney Opera House. Key recent credits include standby for Elder Cunningham in the original Australian cast of The Book of Mormon; an award-winning turn in Hayes Theatre Co’s She Love Me; A Cheery Soul for Sydney Theatre Company; West Side Story for Opera Australia’s Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour; and his sell-out, one man tour-de-force musical Herringbone.

Additional credits include Twelfth Night and Romeo & Juliet (Sport for Jove), A Midsummer Night's Dream (STC), Nine, Of Thee I Sing, Man Of La Mancha, Bye Bye Birdie, The Drowsy Chaperone, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Ordinary Days, A New Brain, [title of show] and Reefer Madness (Squabbalogic), A Christmas Carol and A Year With Frog and Toad (Ensemble), and The Venetian Twins (New Theatre).

Directing credits include Nine, Herringbone (with Michael Ralph), Straight From The Hart, Bring It On, The Original Grease, Grey Gardens, Hello, Dolly! (with Dean Vince), Triassic Parq, Man Of La Mancha, Bye Bye Birdie, Sondheim on Sondheim, The Drowsy Chaperone, Carrie, [title of show] (with Daniel Jacobs), Thrill Me, Forbidden Broadway, Reefer Madness, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, and Tick… Tick… BOOM!

Jay received Sydney Theatre Awards for both Director and Actor in The Drowsy Chaperone, and nominations for Actor and Co-Director for Herringbone, Supporting Actor for She Loves Me, Director for Man of La Mancha, as well as Best Musical nominations for his productions of Carrie, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, The Drowsy Chaperone, and Herringbone. Jay was awarded GLUG awards for Musical for Man of La Mancha and Supporting Actor for She Loves Me.

Jay has written Straight From The Hart, a solo work for Blake Bowden; The Day of the Triffids, adapted for the stage from John Wyndham’s novel; co-written the book of a musical adaptation of Good Omens (with Vicki Larnach and Jim Hare) based on the best-selling novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman; and Caught Out, an original musical satire based on the Australian cricket team cheating scandal, co-written with Xavier Coy and Lloyd Allison-Young.

Jay conceived, co-wrote the highly anticipated musical satire The Dismissal which will premiere in August 2023.

Works produced and directed by Jay through Squabbalogic have amassed over 40 excellence award nominations, winning many, and prompting the Sydney Theatre critic’ awards to create new categories for independent musicals.

Elliot Cleaves is a Canberra-based artist, seasoned in many areas of performance. He holds a qualification in live production within the creative industries and, by day works within the education sector. Elliot has experience in a wide range of genres including musical theatre, comedy, and Shakespeare. His acting credits include Cosi (2021), Two Twenty Somethings Decide Never To Be Stressed About Anything Ever Again. Ever... (2021), and Dags by Debra Oswald with Canberra Youth Theatre (2022). As an Artistic Director with the newly established Green Oak Theatre he supports the development of original scripts, lends his dramaturgical expertise, and technical expertise as lighting designer for various productions. Elliot is passionate about all styles and expressions of storytelling.

Zsuzsi Soboslay is a performer/deviser, director, writer, improviser, movement consultant and art(s) educator who has lived in Canberra for 20 years. Performances in 2022 include Victory Over the Sun [Justene Williams/Sydney Chamber Opera co-production, as dancer]; walking the part of Bradamante in Handel’s Alcina for the National Opera Canberra; and development work at The Street Theatre. In 2023 she will be taking up teaching positions [movement, voice and performance outcomes] at Perform Australia in their Cert IV, Advanced Diploma and THRIVE programs.

Professional theatre credits [as creator/director, writer/librettist and/or performer/consultant] include: the immersive Anthems and Angels and The Compassion Plays [The Street Theatre; Gorman Arts Centre], The Portrait Piper for The National Portrait Gallery; L’Optimisme on the life of Jane Avril for The National Gallery of Australia; The Story of the Oars, The Chain Bridge, Under Milk
Wood, Capital and Cold Light [for The Street] and performance animations with visual artists and musicians for galleries in Canberra and Sydney, including Contour 556, ANCA, the NPG and the NGA.

In 2021, she created and presented The Re-Storying Project, an arts-centred restorative process open to all artists affected by Covid19 in partnership with The Street Theatre, Canberra, now available as a free-access, online resource.

TICKETS

All tickets are $45 inclusive of GST but exclusive of Humanitix booking fees.

Tickets are for entry only. Theatre tickets are available online until one hour before the show. From that point, box office tickets in person are available for purchase.

SEATING

All tickets are general admission and no seats are reserved so the earlier you arrive, the better position you will have.
Seating is in an L-shape to create a dynamic and intimate playing space.
The venue is fully accessible for wheelchairs with a ramp from the P3 parking spot and same level access from entry into building 3.3 into the theatre all the way to the accessible seating position inside the Mill. As the venue has only just been built, please contact us at hello@milltheatreatdairyroad.com for any access questions. All accessible bookings will be reserved.
Every seat in the house has a great view, and a different view. Patrons walk through the set to find your seats, adding to the intimacy of the space. This means, late arrivals or patrons who leave the theatre before intermission or the end will NOT BE ADMITTED TO THE THEATRE.

ARRIVAL & PROTOCOLS

Tickets are fully refundable and transferable for all COVID related issues.

ENTERING

The name of every booked attendee will be checked off the list on arrival.
You may be temperature checked before being allowed into the venue. Your temperature needs to be below 37.5.
Please do not attend if you are experiencing any of the following: fever; flu-like symptoms such as coughing, sore throat and fatigue; shortness of breath or have been in contact with a person with a confirmed case of coronavirus.

CAST AND CREW

We have two COVID-contingency cast members. This process means that should any cast or crew be unwell, our contingency cast will step in to ensure the safest environment for the company and audience. The front of house team will ensure audience are alerted to any changes before each show.

LOCATION

The Mill Theatre is in Building 3.3, the Screencraft and KeepCo building which is a short walk from Capital Brewing. There are two easy ways to approach the Theatre:

PARK in P3 at the back of the precinct. From there you will see building 3.3 which has a large Screencraft sign. The public entrance is just up from that sign (not underneath it!). Once inside, walk about 5 metres and the theatre is to the right, next to Mojo Guitars.

WALK from Capital Brewing or the Less sculpture into the KeepCo building, pass Ramen Daddy and at the end of the corridor we are on the left.

PARKING

All parking in the precinct is free with several accessible parking spots in all the parking locations. The best spot to park is P3 at the back of the precinct. If you park elsewhere please be warned that signage and way-finding around the precinct is extremely difficult. Arrive in plenty of time to possibly get lost, possibly be in a bad mood, and remedy that with a drink at Ramen Daddy before enjoying a smashing show!