EDINBURGH 2014 - BWW Reviews: WHITE RABBIT RED RABBIT, Assembly George Square Studios, August 2 2014
I'll admit it: I'm a fan of a theatrical gimmick. Generally speaking, a production that has a bit of a high-concept twist that can be summed up in ten words or less is in with a good shot at a positive review from me. And so, White Rabbit Red Rabbit, with its pitch of 'actor opens envelope and performs play without ever reading it' was already off to a good start.
The play, written by Nassim Soleimanpour, is a strange yet charming and ultimately wholly enjoyable oddity: the actor (on this occasion, the comedian Adam Riches) reads the play aloud for the first time and Soleimanpour speaks both to him and, via him, to the audience; he describes how, denied a passport, he feels he can travel the world through his words. We are invited to email Soleimanpour, a photo is taken of some participants which he asks to be sent to him, and the overall effect - as he addresses us in the present, but from some point in the past - is singularly dizzying.
It doesn't hurt that Riches himself is a hugely charming presence. He never wavers in his commitment to what's asked of him, and is full of raised-eyebrow 'we're all in this together' bonhomie. And if the play's poison-related central conceit never quite has the impact it's meant to (due to overwhelming implausibility), Riches' appeal combined with the originality of the piece - you won't have seen anything quite like this - make for an absorbing hour that's never less than fascinating.
White Rabbit Red Rabbit runs at the Assembly George Square Studios until August 25th.
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