A stellar line-up of acclaimed actors, including David Tennant, Jodie Whittaker, and Riz Ahmed, are set to take turns starring in the inaugural production from a new independent theatre company. Each performer will step onto the stage for a single, unrehearsed performance of White Rabbit Red Rabbit, presented with a sealed envelope containing a script they have never seen before.
The innovative new company, There & Then, was unveiled on Friday by award-winning director Omar Elerian and Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour. Their collaboration follows a decade of working together, culminating in this ambitious venture.
White Rabbit Red Rabbit, the company’s first play, will run weekly on Monday evenings at London’s West End Duchess Theatre from 8 June until 2 November. The unique format sees a different actor perform each night, with no director or prior rehearsal, making every show a singular event.
The initial roster of talent includes David Harewood, who will open the run on 8 June, followed by David Tennant on 15 June. Asim Chaudhry is scheduled for 29 June, Luke Thompson for 6 July, Jodie Whittaker for 13 July, and Kathryn Hunter for 20 July. Riz Ahmed will perform on 28 September. Tickets are currently on sale, with further casting announcements expected in the coming weeks.
First staged in 2011, White Rabbit Red Rabbit was penned by Soleimanpour during a period when he was forbidden from leaving Iran. Described as a "singular, unrepeatable experience shaped entirely by how that performer embraces the unknown", the play has since been translated into over 25 languages.
Soleimanpour reflected on the journey, stating: "We are all made of the stories we dare to tell, and the silences we finally give a voice. What began as a leap into the unknown with White Rabbit Red Rabbit has, through years of collaboration with Omar Elerian, become a shared theatrical language and the foundation of this new company."
Elerian expressed his enthusiasm for the new chapter: "I am extremely excited to embark on this new creative chapter in collaboration with my partner-in-crime, Nassim Soleimanpour. Together, we look forward to introducing something fresh and unconventional to the West End, confident that London audiences will embrace the exhilarating high-wire nature of our work—anchored in presence, immediacy, and a spirit of the unknown. In these fragile and uncertain times, we hope to reaffirm that risk, imagination, and the enduring power of storytelling remain among our most vital and transformative forces."
White Rabbit Red Rabbit is a There & Then production, presented in association with renowned theatre producer Nica Burns. Burns praised the collaboration, adding: "I am delighted to welcome two exceptional artists producing together for the first time with their new company – playwright Nassim Soleimanpour and director Omar Elerian – to our first Monday evening residency at the intimate Duchess theatre. Every performance of White Rabbit Red Rabbit, a sold-out hit @sohoplace in 2024, is as unique as each of our outstanding company of performers, who appear only once. Definitely worth seeing twice."
