On Sunday March 13th, the theater group Et Alia will present for the second time the show “White Rabbit Red Rabbit.” It is written by the Iranian author Nassim Soleimanpour. With no rehearsal, no director, and a neutral set, the date was chosen to celebrate the revival of theaters all over the world, exactly 2 years after the theater shutdown due to the global pandemic.

With no rehearsals, no director, and a sealed script, “White Rabbit Red Rabbit” is a show in which the actor reads the script for the first time onstage. Forbidden to leave his home country, Soleimanpour wrote a one-performer play as a letter that would travel the world in his place. 

Et Alia is an International theater company based in New York. The expression et alia means and other in Latin. It is collaborated with people from various countries such as Canada, USA, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Saint Lucia, Bermuda, Norway, Germany, Austria, Italy, Romania, South Africa, Yemen, Iran, India, Turkey, and Armenia.

A visionary playwright, Nassim Soleimanpour, after being denied a passport, creates a play that will do the travel for him. Ever since it first premiered in 2011 at both the Edinburgh and Summerworks festivals, “White Rabbit Red Rabbit,” has been translated into 20 different languages and performed more than 1000 times, including by big names such as Dominic West, Arthur Darvill, Stephen Rea, John Hurt, Katie Dickie and Siobhan Redmond, comedians Sue Perkins, Phil Jupitus and Mark Watson, and filmmaker Ken Loach.

Though the play is set in a simple stage – a table, a ladder, and a chair, two glasses of water, a spoon, and an envelop containing the script – its experimental nature reveals aspects of allegory as a form of criticism to our society, with comic but unnerving takes. All in all, the play allows performer and audiences to create a deeper connection which goes beyond frontiers.

This performance is an association between Et Alia Theater, Theater for the New CIty and Aurora Nova. Produced by Ana Moioli and Luísa Galatti and performed by Maria Müller.

Around the world, 92 theaters in 33 countries will be performing at 8pm in their respective local time as a symbol of remembrance of this infamous date from 2 years ago.

“White Rabbit Red Rabbit” at Theater for the New City, on 155 1st Avenue, New York, NY.