One of contemporary theatre’s most unusual theatrical experiments is coming to Picton. County Stage is presenting three one-night-only performances of Nassim Soleimanpour’s internationally acclaimed White Rabbit Red Rabbit with local actors Mira Skye Sorbara Korngold, Carolyn Taylor, and Paul Snepsts.

The premise is simple. Each night a new actor is handed a sealed envelope containing Soleimanpour’s play. They will not have read the play they are about to perform. They have been instructed not to research the script, not to prepare, but just show up. 

The actor opens the envelope  in front of the audience: what happens next is discovered together.

With no prior staging and no opportunity to rehearse, each performance unfolds in a state of tension. Funny, mischievous, provocative, and at times deeply unsettling, White Rabbit Red Rabbit explores questions of obedience, power, freedom, choice, and collective responsibility.

Written while Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour was unable to leave his country, the play became a way for his words to travel where he could not: a long-distance dialogue between the author, a performer he has never met, and an audience somewhere in the world.

Since its premiere in 2011, White Rabbit Red Rabbit has become one of the most widely travelled plays in contemporary theatre. It has been translated into more than 30 languages and performed more than 3,000 times with performers including John Hurt, Whoopi Goldberg, Nathan Lane, Stephen Rea, and Dominic West.

For County Stage’s Artistic Director Heather Braaten, the unpredictability of the work is exactly what makes presenting three performances so exciting.

“Live theatre is already about sharing something that can only happen in that particular room, with that particular audience, on that particular night. White Rabbit Red Rabbit takes that idea even further. 

The County’s own Mira, Carolyn, and Paul will each meet this play for the very first time in front of us. Their instincts, their humour, their curiosity, and their relationship with the audience will shape what happens. You could attend all three performances and see the same script, but you will absolutely not see the same show.”

County Stage presents

White Rabbit Red Rabbit at The Andrew in Picton on three consecutive Thursdays, each featuring a different performer:

October 9: Mira Skye Sorbara Korngold

October 16: Carolyn Taylor

October 23: Paul Snepsts

For tickets and information, visit countystage.ca