Take a leap into the unknown at the BATS’ Annual Fundraiser

Take a leap into the unknown at the BATS’ Annual Fundraiser, White Rabbit Red Rabbit

Will you participate? Will you be manipulated? Will you listen? Will you really listen?

With no rehearsals, no director, a different actor each performance, and a script waiting in a sealed envelope on stage, internationally acclaimed White Rabbit Red Rabbit by Nassim Soleimanpour, is an audacious theatrical experiment and a potent reminder of the transgressive and transformative power of theatre.

This year, BATS is looking to take regular theatre goers and wider community on a journey by showcasing White Rabbit Red Rabbit as their annual fundraiser. “White Rabbit Red Rabbit is an incredible leap of faith for everyone. The performers are not supposed to know anything about the show before they pick up the script and the audience don’t know what to expect from the play. It’s about trusting the spontaneity of the live experience, which is what BATS is all about. The play was also chosen as the BATS fundraiser because it epitomises the kind of work we strive to programme. White Rabbit Red Rabbit is bold and innovative, contemporary and relevant, and engages with audiences in new and exciting ways” says BATS Programme Manager Heather O’Carroll.

Forbidden to leave his native Iran, Soleimanpour wrote a play which travelled the world in his place. The audience joins each different performer on a journey into the unknown; stumbling upon the personal and profound, the limits of liberty and ultimately of where theatre can take you. Since its joint premiere in 2011, the play has been translated into 20 different languages and has been performed over 1000 times by some of the biggest names in theatre and film, including actors Whoopi Goldberg, Nathan Lane, John Hurt, Simon McBurney, Stephen Fry, Sinead Cusack, Marcus Brigstocke and Ken Loach.

On 1 April 2019, BATS will celebrate thirty years of success stories from both sides of the stage. With two different performers every night, White Rabbit Red Rabbit will be a great opportunity to celebrate some of those people who have been a part of the BATS whānau over its thirty year history and help to keep it flying into the future. Key supporter, Brian Steele from Shoreline Partners says “We are delighted to continue our support of BATS theatre. White Rabbit Red Rabbit showcases BATS' grip on the future of audience experience – it is an engagement that we seek to emulate.”

The performers of White Rabbit Red Rabbit at BATS are, in alphabetic rather than performance order: Keagan Carr Fransch, Ricky Dey, Moana Ete, Daniel Gamboa Salazar, Kali Kopae, Salesi Le’ota, Karin McCracken, James Nokise, Jo Randerson and Mick Rose.

URGENT: This play is NOT overtly political, and should not be portrayed as such. It operates on a deeper, metaphoric level, and very expressly avoids overt political comment. All media and press agents have to keep in mind that the playwright lives in Iran. We therefore ask the press to be judicious in their reportage.

Show and ticket information:

Dates: 6:30pm & 9pm, Tues 30 May - Sat 3 June (two shows per night)
Venue: The Heyday Dome at BATS Theatre, 1 Kent Tce
Tickets: $22 Full Price / $16 Concession / $15 Groups of 6+

Book at bats.co.nz

This fundraising season of White Rabbit Red Rabbit is being generously supported by:

The Parkin Foundation
Shoreline Partners
Phantom Billstickers
QT Museum Hotel
Rabbit Ranch

Production Team
Executive Producer: BATS Theatre
Co-producers: Claire O’Loughlin, Samuel Phillips, Ryan Knighton

About BATS

BATS is a not-for-profit pick and mix of theatre good times, an iconic feature of Wellington’s vibrant landscape, and the leading developmental theatre of Aotearoa. We’re recognised both nationally and internationally for being the ultimate incubator of new New Zealand theatre, and being right at the heart of the theatre community. For more information visit https://bats.co.nz/

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