Nassim Soleimanpour’s solo play White Rabbit Red Rabbit has returned to the Duchess Theatre in London, marking its 15th anniversary with weekly performances running on Mondays until November 2. The play, notable for its unique format, continues to challenge traditional theatrical conventions by featuring a new, unrehearsed guest performer each week who reads from a sealed script for the first time in front of a live audience.

The show’s premise remains unchanged: the performer enters the stage alone, equipped only with a chair, table, two glasses of water, a mysterious object, and a sealed envelope containing the script. Over approximately 70 minutes, the actor navigates a series of interactive segments involving audience participation, guided by the text which explores themes such as leadership, obedience, ambition, envy, and the nature of power. Past celebrity participants have included names like David Tennant, Jodie Whittaker, and Riz Ahmed, each bringing their own interpretation to the spontaneous performance.

Soleimanpour, who wrote the play while unable to leave Iran, integrates a poignant political undertone into the experience. Communicating through the script, he shares his personal circumstances—writing the play from Shiraz under a regime where police presence looms at cultural venues—while inviting the audience to send him photographs from their environments, providing him glimpses of the world he cannot freely access.

The show also engages uniquely with the concept of time, as Soleimanpour reflects on how future audiences’ reactions will influence his writing, creating a recursive artistic dialogue across moments and spaces. This temporal element adds complexity to what at first appears as a deceptively lighthearted and childlike work, echoing broader reflections on complicity and agency under authoritarian conditions.

Audience responses vary with each performance, influenced by the individual guest’s approach and the evening’s dynamic. The production’s combination of humor, immediacy, and political resonance fosters animated post-show discussions, particularly among younger theatre-goers. An unexpected twist toward the conclusion of the play—one that prompts the audience to categorize themselves symbolically—has been noted to leave viewers both puzzled and exhilarated.

White Rabbit Red Rabbit continues to be a distinctive theatrical experience, artfully blending spontaneity with socio-political commentary, and remains a compelling invitation for audiences to engage with the uncertainties of performance and power.