'White Rabbit Red Rabbit,' with a new star every night, has its L.A. premiere at the Fountain

“White Rabbit Red Rabbit” by Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour is having its L.A. premiere astatine the Fountain Theatre, and the little I archer you astir it, the better.

Soleimanpour is known for his “cold work plays,” which are performed by an histrion instantly aft receiving the publication successful beforehand of an arsenic unprepared audience. Mystery is built into the theatrical experience.

“White Rabbit Red Rabbit,” which doesn’t trust connected the services of a director, tin beryllium thought of arsenic a theatrical connection successful a bottle. Soleimanpour wrote the play astir 15 years agone erstwhile helium was without a passport for not having fulfilled his required subject service. Unable to question and fearful of what mightiness hap to him next, helium wrote the portion to pass with an unforeseeable future.

It’s little of a play than an interactive theatrical experience. Audiences are summoned to the signifier astatine random by the unrehearsed actor. Writer and performer Sandra Tsing Loh had the honors Sunday, and she gamely followed the script’s instructions arsenic though presiding implicit an evening of charades that an oracle had dreamed up successful advance.

Scenarios are acted retired involving a rabbit who enjoys frequenting the circus and a ticket-taker carnivore who relishes enforcing the rules with each his brutal might. We’re intelligibly successful allegory territory here, truthful the silliness isn’t without substance. Soleimanpour wants america to see our ain posture toward brutal authority. Do we obey successful advance, oregon bash we clasp our motivation communal consciousness successful the look of terror?

A vial of “poison,” introduced astatine the commencement of “White Rabbit Red Rabbit,” is acceptable beside 2 glasses of water. Is this a theatrical ruse oregon a execution crippled successful process? Choices volition person to beryllium made by assemblage members, who play astatine slightest arsenic ample a relation successful the acquisition of “White Rabbit Red Rabbit” arsenic the evening’s headliner.

In New York, the portion attracted a revolving doorway of big-name talent, including Nathan Lane, Whoopi Goldberg and Cynthia Nixon. At the Fountain, the play leans heavy connected leaders successful the section theatre community. Rogue Machine Artistic Director Guillermo Cienfuegos, Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum Artistic Director Ellen Geer and histrion and erstwhile Antaeus Theatre Company Artistic Director Bill Brochtrup person each signed up for the Fountain production, which runs done June 22.

“White Rabbit Red Rabbit” doesn’t request boldface names, but it does beryllium connected the curiosity of mean theatergoers. Searching for comparisons, I flashed backmost to the theatrical enactment of Peter Handke, who successful unclassifiable show pieces similar “Offending the Audience” forcefully deconstructed the spectator-spectacle relationship.

Soleimanpour is little ceremonial successful his aesthetic strategy. A much genial invisible presence, helium is besides a bully woody much gentle than the Austrian Nobel Prize winner. A small much structural unit wouldn’t person been amiss.

The show is truthful good-natured astir its antithetic quality that it becomes slack astatine times. To marque a deeper impression, it needs greater condemnation and control. But possibly these missing ingredients would beryllium supplied by a antithetic acceptable of participants. I near the theatre mildly beguiled, smiling arsenic I entered my car and shrugging arsenic soon arsenic I deed the road.