Lucian Msamati in White Rabbit Red Rabbit [Sarah Larby]

THE conceit of White Rabbit Red Rabbit is simple: a different actor takes to the stage each performance to deliver a script they have never seen before with no rehearsal and no director. The improvisational format encourages audience participation.

Iranian Nassim Soleimanpour wrote the play in his 20s, while under a travel ban for refusing military service, unsure if he would even be alive when his script found a platform.

Fortunately, having left Iran in 2013, he avoided some of the country’s deadliest crackdowns in recent years and joined the opening night curtain call of this 15th-anniversary run.

It’s a multi-layered piece exploring free expression, obedience, state repression, suicide, and the ways art crosses borders. But Soleimanpour also injects a mischievous element through the actor’s interaction with the audience.

Lucian Msamati (Game of Thrones) stepped in for the scheduled David Harewood. Hugely charismatic, Msamati has no lead to follow in this allegorical story of red rabbits (the ones who go for the carrot) and white rabbits (the ones left in the cold).

However, his light touch and slightly literal interpretation feel at odds with Soleimanpour’s interrogation of conformity in a repressive society. Focusing too much on the script’s humour dilutes its darker concerns.

The play’s impact depends entirely on the actor’s instincts, so a mixed reception is inevitable.

Presented by There & Then (co-founded by Soleimanpour and Omar Elerian) in association with Nica Burns, performances run weekly on Monday evenings. Choose your actor according to the experience you want; their courage is undeniable.

Until November 2
theduchesstheatre.co.uk/