White Rabbit Red Rabbit: Forget everything you know about theatre

Posted on 2 February, 2023

Let us set the scene for you.

White Rabbit Red Rabbit is a play that has no director, is performed by a different actor every night and the script remains a fiercely guarded secret, only to be revealed when an actor takes the stage, reading the words of playwright Nassim Soleimanpour for the first time.

Translated in 25 languages, performed by the likes of Whoopi Goldberg and brought to life over 2000 times around the world, there’s a power that lies within White Rabbit Red Rabbit beyond its unorthodox structure.

Unable to leave his home country of Iran, White Rabbit Red Rabbit has become an acute continuation of Nassim’s own experiences—freed by both audiences and actors with its authenticity, intimacy and unflinching originality. Now the play is coming to Canberra for a limited run of shows at Dairy Road’s Mill Theatre later this month.

For Mill Theatre’s Creative Director Lexi Sekuless, the opportunity to stage a play like White Rabbit Red Rabbit to mark the start of the 2023 season was an opportunity she couldn’t ignore.

Drawn toward what she describes as a love for the “unorthodox”, Mill Theatre’s new space at Fyshwick’s Dairy Road has quickly become synonymous with pushing big boundaries, from its unique seating arrangement, rebellious grey (as opposed to black) painted box, and, uncoincidentally, its creative work.

Photography: Rohan Thomson.

“I love unorthodox stuff,” says Lexi. “I love thinking and asking how you can test and push the envelope. What lives on the other side of that?”

“A play like White Rabbit Red Rabbit really fits the ethos of the space. We’re deep in a precinct, surrounded by a couple of yoga studios and [restaurant] Canteen…everything about the space is a bit different, so it can create this sense that there is more freedom. Whether that be a freedom for people to find and discover things for that night, or just for that show, or maybe for that year.”

Photography: Rohan Thomson.

But perhaps what makes The Mill Theatre such a lightning rod for creativity lies in the immense trust the theatre team has for every creative individual that enters into this space—working in beautiful harmony with works such as White Rabbit Red Rabbit. A play that doesn’t ask for your trust but demands it.

For Canberra-based actor Stefanie Lekkas, one of the actors taking on White Rabbit Red Rabbit, this particular work has been a refreshing experience—surrendering herself entirely to Nassim’s vision and using her body as means for walking the fragile line that sits between an actor, the audience and the script.

“I will rock up on the day well-rested, having done my vocal warmup and my physical warm up and see what comes because I don’t want to mess with the process,” says Stefanie.

“I know that the conditions of performing in this show are that you haven’t seen it and you haven’t researched it, so I’m keen to stick to that. Which means preparation is preparing the ‘instrument’, I guess you could call it.”

“I love the rehearsal process, but it’s also really exciting to be a part of something completely different. And it’s that idea that you can’t be unprepared because you have to be unprepared if that makes sense? How you get ready for it is by not knowing what’s happening.”

The intimate nature of The Mill Theatre means that we, as an audience, will experience the actor’s vulnerability first-hand as they work throughout this unseen work.

For actor Zsuzsi Soboslay (whose expansive resume includes writer, performer/deviser, director and Art(s) educator), it’s the ability to make mistakes in front of a live audience that makes this particular work so intoxicating. Like love hearts scribbled on office paper, beautiful moments of spontaneity dance within the seriousness of the poignant play.

Photography: Martin Ollman.

“There is kind of no escape,” says Zsuzsi. “The audience is right there, so there aren’t too many tricks you can pull. You have to face the moment, and if you made a mistake, you have made a mistake—you have to acknowledge that. But I think that’s what makes this work so interesting…it gives you that ability to drop your guard and ask yourself to step into what’s happening right now?”

While White Red Rabbit marks the start of Mill’s creative season, looking ahead to the future illuminates an exciting year of performance and collaboration. With revered theatre names such as Julian Meyrick reimagining Nick Enright’s ‘Good Works,’ alongside up-and-coming talent such as Kim Beamish taking on the edgy Broadway play ‘Reasons to be Happy.’

For Lexi, this is what The Mill Theatre is all about. Creating a supportive and safe environment for Canberra’s voices to come to life—alongside the narratives they trust and, most importantly, set free.

“My goal is for people to know that and for other creatives to know that this is a space for Canberra creatives to put forward the stories that that they want to tell or the things that they’re interested in.”

“Canberra has such a beautiful theatre scene, it’s really, rich, so I want to set up the right environment so that new ideas have a solid foundation to stand on.”