White Rabbit, Red Rabbit

Do you dare to try a different play? A play that doesn’t have a director? Where the actor is doing a cold reading? Where each night might be subtly or grossly different, depending upon who is part of the theatre, whether actor or audience?

I dared. I’m glad I did. Geraldine Turner, well-known actor from stage and screen, showed her experience and class, not to mention her similar sense of daring, not knowing what might be contained in the script that is sealed in an envelope. This play is uncomfortable at times, funny sometimes, and provokes thought in the following days.

To preserve the enjoyment and unexpected nature of this play, I shan’t discuss the narrative.  Let’s just say that since the play’s 2011 premiere in Edinburgh, White Rabbit, Red Rabbit has been translated into many languages and performed in many venues. Each time there is a different actor who will read the script on their own, with no preparation, and with only a few props on stage with them. There are no wild technical expectations. It’s a theatrical experiment but worth participating in.

Geraldine Turner showed her spirit of adventure in theatre, not to mention her expression and voice which make even a cold reading enjoyable. I anticipate that audiences in coming performances will find similar yet different qualities in the actors they see.

Could you trust me to tell the truth? Of course.

Rachel McGrath-Kerr

Image: Geraldine Turner (also pictured Nick Byrne). Photographer: Lorna Sim.