by Nassim Soleimanpour
30-year-old Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour’s arresting and allegorical work dissects the experience of a whole generation in this wild, original play. Each night an acclaimed Canadian actor, who has never before seen or read this play, is handed a sealed envelope. They open it and begin. Neither actor nor audience knows what lies ahead on this metaphorical journey into extreme experience.
Presented at Uno Fest
May 24-25, 2013
Performances by Johanna Nutter (May 24) and Jayson McDonald (May 25)
Presented at The Cultch
September 19-30, 2012
Performances by Carmen Aguirre (Sept. 19), Kathryn Shaw (Sept. 20), James Long (Sept. 21), Marcus Youssef (Sept. 22), Ryan Beil (Sept. 23), Maiko Yamamoto (Sept. 25), Peter Anderson (Sept. 26), Donna Soares (Sept. 27), Jonathon Young (Sept. 28), Kevin Loring (Sept. 29), Alessandro Juliani (Sept. 30, 2pm), and Meg Roe (Sept. 30, 8pm).
“Itai Erdal, founder of The Elbow Theatre Society introduced the show and handed Aguirre a sealed envelope containing the script. Through clever and thoughtful writing Soleimanpour leads the actor and the audience through a complex allegory about rabbits, ostriches and bears (oh my!) …Carmen Aguirre was engaging and warm as Actor. Though she didn’t know where we were going, she took us there with confidence. Not to mention, her impression of a cheetah impersonating a dancing ostrich was truly a thing of beauty.”
By Jennifer Takata, Vancouver Weekly, September 23, 2012
“Aside from being entertaining, White Rabbit, Red Rabbit is an engaging commentary on how we construct meaning, on the collaboration between playwright, performer and audience. At every performance there is an empty seat reserved in the front for Soleimanpour himself, which not only commemorates his necessary absence, but also speaks to the ways that the results of our actions travel through time ahead of us, often long after we’re gone.”
By Erika Thorkelson, The Vancouver Sun, September 20, 2012
“Soleimanpour’s conception of this evening is sophisticated, and his audacious attempt to travel-to converse with us through the voices of foreign actors-is moving. …On opening night, Carmen Aguirre’s reading of the script was perfection. She didn’t act. She stayed clear. She was the conduit.”
By Colin Thomas