White Rabbit, Red Rabbit
By Nassim Soleimanpour
ABOUT THE SHOW
A lone performer. An unseen script. A show without borders.
Australian comedian, and Helpmann award-winning actor, Darren Gilshenan boldy took the stage, opened an envelope, and read a script for the very first time, in front of a full house. NORPA, in association with Aurora Nova, presented this thrilling, one-night-only performance, which was a potent reminder of the transformative power of theatre.
White Rabbit, Red Rabbit is a groundbreaking play from Iranian writer Nassim Soleimanpour. Forbidden to leave his homeland at 29, Soleimanpour wrote a wild, and original work, that could travel the world in his place.
An audacious theatrical experiment, White Rabbit, Red Rabbit is one of the most widely toured plays in contemporary theatre. It’s been translated into more than 30 languages and performed globally over 3,000 times by some of the biggest names in the business, including John Hurt, Whoopi Goldberg and Alan Cumming.
The writer asks that no one talks about the White Rabbit, Red Rabbit script afterwards except secretly between those audiences that have seen it and the performers who have taken part – a sort of theatrical ‘fight club’.
AUDIENCE FEEDBACK
“Wildly unpredictable and completely unforgettable, White Rabbit, Red Rabbit is a punch in the air for self-expression; a testament to the power of words to transcend cultures and borders.” New Zealand Herald
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer Nassim Soleimanpour
Performer Darren Gilshenan
Dramaturgy Daniel Brooks and Ross Manson
ABOUT DARREN GILSHENAN
After graduating from NIDA in 1988, Darren began his career in musical theatre before spending 10 years with The Bell Shakespeare Company. Recent television credits include Colin From Accounts, Harrow co-starring Ioan Gruffudd, Here Come the Habibs, No Activity, Maximum Choppage, The Killing Field, Rake 3, Janet King, Top of the Lake and A Moody Christmas. Film credits include Take My Hand, Carnifex, A Few Less Men, the AACTA nominated Women He’s Undressed, and Save Your Legs. Theatre credits include Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Ensemble Theatre); Strictly Ballroom directed by Baz Luhrmann; Mother and Son national tour; Tartuffe (Black Swan Theatre Company); Elling, Don Parties On (MTC); Machu Picchu (STC).
Darren received a 2020 AACTA Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Drama Series for Stateless. He has won a Best Actor Helpmann Award for The Servant of Two Masters, received Equity Ensemble Awards for The Moodys and A Moody Christmas, been nominated for a Golden Nymph Award at the Monte Carlo Television Festival for Best Actor for Here Come The Habibs, as well as multiple Green Room, Sydney Critic and Glug Award nominations.
PRESENTATION HISTORY
Wed 13 Mar 2024 at Byron Theatre, 69 Jonson St, Byron Bay
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