Nassim Soleimanpour (Persian: نسیم سلیمانپور, born 10 December 1981)[1] is an Iranian playwright. He is best known for his 2010 play White Rabbit Red Rabbit.
Early life and education
editSoleimanpour was born in Tehran, Iran.[1] His father is a novelist.[2]
He studied set design at the University of Tehran, and started teaching a computer-aided set design course there, but always continued to write – poems, short stories and stage plays.[2]
Having refused compulsory military service in Iran, he was not allowed to leave the country until 2013, when he was granted a passport.[3]
Works
editWhite Rabbit Red Rabbit
editSoleimanpour's 2010 play White Rabbit Red Rabbit has been performed widely and in more than 20 languages.[4][5] It is to be performed each night by a different actor, who has not seen the script before. First performed at the 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Clubbed Thumb's Summerworks festivals,[6] it has since been performed by an array of A-list actors, including F. Murray Abraham, Wayne Brady, Bobby Cannavale, Darren Criss, Brian Dennehy, Joyce DiDonato, Whoopi Goldberg, Nathan Lane, Cynthia Nixon, Patrick Wilson, Stana Katic and many more at its premiere in New York City at the Westside Theatre in 2016 where it ran for 42 weeks, produced by Tom Kirdahy.[7][8][9][10] Soleimanpour first saw the play in 2013 at the Brisbane Powerhouse, Australia, during the World Theatre Festival.[3]
In summer 2024 it was announced that the play will be performed for the first time in London's West End in October of the same year at Soho place. [11] The vast array of performers included Freema Agyeman, Olly Alexander, John Bishop, Alan Davies, Daisy Edgar Jones, Omari Douglas, Alfred Enoch, Jill Halfpenny, Jason Isaacs, Pearl Mackie, Sally Phillips, Jonathan Pryce, Michael Sheen, Tonia Sotiropoulou and Deborah Frances-White. The play run was extended, due to many performances being sold out and new performers added such as Elizabeth McGovern, Toby Jones, Adjoah Andoh, Miriam Margolyes, Stockard Channing, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Rory Kinnear, Lenny Henry, Minnie Driver, Ambika Mod and Katherine Parkinson.[12]
Other works
editHis play Blind Hamlet premiered during the 2014 Edinburgh Festival Fringe at the Assembly Roxy.[13]
Nassim, which requires the actor and audience members to speak Farsi (Persian), premiered in Edinburgh in 2017[5] and played at the Arts Centre Melbourne in early 2018.[14] Nassim had its New York premiere in December 2018 at Stage II of the New York City Center, where it played until April 20.[15]
Awards
editSoleimanpour has won several awards, including:[6]
- Dublin Fringe Festival Best New Performance 2012
- Summerworks Outstanding New Performance Text Award 2011
- The Arches Brick Award, Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2011
References
edit- ^ a b "White Rabbit Red Rabbit", nassimsoleimanpour.com
- ^ a b Mostajabian, Soheil; Soleimanpour, Nassim. "Performer Soheil Mostajabian and playwright Nassim Soleimanpour on White Rabbit, Red Rabbit". New York Theatre Review (Interview). Interviewed by Jody Christopherson. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ a b "Nassim Soleimanpour's White Rabbit Red Rabbit at World Theatre Festival", interview by Sarah Kanowski and Richard Fidler, ABC Radio National, 23 February 2013
- ^ "Playwright Nassim Soleimanpour sees his own play" by Ian Youngs, BBC News, 26 February 2013
- ^ a b "Nassim review – language and life lessons from a vivid Iranian voice" by Lyn Gardner, The Guardian, 10 August 2017
- ^ a b White Rabbit Red Rabbit, Aurora Nova
- ^ "White Rabbit Red Rabbit to be performed in support of PEN", PEN International New York City, 3 February 2016
- ^ David Gordon: "Opera Star Joyce DiDonato to Join White Rabbit Red Rabbit", TheaterMania, 30 August 2016 (line-up March 7 to August 29, 2016 at the Westside Theatre, Manhattan)
- ^ Gioia, Michael (19 December 2016). "Exclusive: 17 Outrageous Moments From the Run of White Rabbit Red Rabbit". Playbill. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
- ^ "Justin Bartha, Billy Porter, and Stana Katic Line Up for White Rabbit Red Rabbit by Hayley Levitt, TheaterMania, August 9, 2016
- ^ "White Rabbit, Red Rabbit to run in the West End with all-star line-up". 16 August 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ "White Rabbit Red Rabbit adds further dates & stars to London's @sohoplace Theatre including Miriam Margolyes, Minnie Driver, Stephen Merchant, Lenny Henry & more | West End Theatre". www.westendtheatre.com. 6 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ "Edinburgh festival 2014 review: Blind Hamlet – interactive parlour game with very little Hamlet" by Lyn Gardner, The Guardian, 16 August 2014
- ^ "Nassim review: Aussie actor Alison Bell walks blind into a joke at her expense" by Cameron Woodhead, The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 January 2018
- ^ "Ashley Park, Lee Pace, Will Eno, More Join Nassim Before Show Closes Off-Broadway" by Olivia Clement, Playbill, April 4, 2019
External links
edit- Official website
- "White Rabbit Red Rabbit homepage". Westside Theatre. Archived from the original on 18 December 2018.
- White Rabbit Red Rabbit on American Theatre Wing's Working in the Theatre series
- White Rabbit Red Rabbit (2016 production) at the Internet Off-Broadway Database (Westside Theatre)
