Theater fans will be engrossed in an experimental play currently being presented by TUTA Theatre in Chicago.
“White Rabbit, Red Rabbit’” which runs through Aug. 11, easily draws audience members into the work by playwright Nassim Soleimanpour. The playwright is a censored Iranian/German writer whose work speaks about a myriad of topics from the state of contemporary Iran to censorship, power struggles in the world, trust and even suicide.
Each time the play is performed it's done by one actor on stage who has no clue what the show is about or even the title of the production they'll be starring in. During a recent opening night staging of the play at TUTA Theatre, the actor starring in the production was Huy Nguyen, a TUTA company member. Nguyen offered an engaging cold reading of the show. He even made witty comments as asides to the script. The actor proved quick on his feet as he made good use of the stage and was excellent at tackling this interesting experimental piece.
“White Rabbit, Red Rabbit” debuted in Edinburgh in 2011. It's been translated into more than 30 languages. Interestingly, it's been performed by many theater and movie actors through the years. The roster of actors who have starred in the work include Nathan Lane, John Hurt, Whoopi Goldberg, Sinead Cusack and others.
Those who enjoy participatory theater may have a chance to take part in this show on any given night. Audience members are occasionally called up to the stage to interact with the performer and fellow audience members.
Upcoming performances of “White Rabbit, Red Rabbit” will feature Wain Parham on July 27; Seoyoung Park on July 28; Felix Mayes on Aug. 3; Clifton Frei on Aug. 4; August Forman on Aug. 10 and Austin Ryan Hunt on Aug. 11.
The play runs on Sunday and Monday evenings through Aug. 11.
FYI: “White Rabbit, Red Rabbit” runs through Aug. 11 at TUTA Theatre, 4670 N. Manor Drive, Chicago. Tickets are $20, $45 and $60 plus a $3 handling fee per ticket. Visit www.tutatheatre.org.