White Rabbit Red Rabbit to return to the West End with David Tennant, Riz Ahmed and more

Nassim Soleimanpour and Omar Elerian have announced the launch of a new independent production company, There & Then.

The playwright and director, whose previous collaborations include Echo and Nassim, will inaugurate the company with a West End run of White Rabbit Red Rabbit at the Duchess Theatre from 8 June to 2 November 2026, with performances taking place weekly on Monday evenings.

The production, presented in association with Nica Burns, marks the 15th anniversary of Soleimanpour’s play, which was first performed in 2011 while he was unable to leave Iran. The piece has since been staged more than 4,000 times in over 25 languages.

White Rabbit Red Rabbit is structured as a theatrical experiment in which a different performer appears at each performance, encountering the script for the first time on stage. With no rehearsal and no director, each performance unfolds as a unique, one-off event shaped entirely by the individual performer’s response.

The initial line-up of guest performers includes David Harewood on 8 June, David Tennant on 15 June, Jo Joyner on 22 June, Asim Chaudhry on 29 June, Luke Thompson on 6 July, Jodie Whittaker on 13 July, Kathryn Hunter on 20 July, Kunal Nayyar on 27 July, Archie Madekwe on 21 September and Riz Ahmed on 28 September. Further casting is to be announced.

The company There & Then has been formed following a decade-long collaboration between Soleimanpour and Elerian, and aims to create immediate, unpredictable theatrical work both in the UK and internationally. They are joined by executive producer Roz Coleman, with support from producing advisor Malú Ansaldo.

Soleimanpour said: “We are all made of the stories we dare to tell, and the silences we finally give a voice. What began as a leap into the unknown with White Rabbit Red Rabbit has, through years of collaboration with Omar Elerian, become a shared theatrical language and the foundation of this new company, and we’re excited that our first production will be in association with Nica Burns and Nimax as we share this next chapter with audiences.”

Elerian added: “I am extremely excited to embark on this new creative chapter in collaboration with my partner-in-crime, Nassim Soleimanpour. Together, we look forward to introducing something fresh and unconventional to the West End, confident that London audiences will embrace the exhilarating high-wire nature of our work – anchored in presence, immediacy, and a spirit of the unknown. In these fragile and uncertain times, we hope to reaffirm that risk, imagination, and the enduring power of storytelling remain among our most vital and transformative forces.”

Executive producer Coleman said: “I have always worked alongside artists who push the limits of what is expected, and There & Then is a natural next chapter. The scale of ambition alongside the lightness of touch inspires me, and the return of White Rabbit Red Rabbit opens a door to something much bigger. With Echo touring Europe this spring and a growing body of new work taking shape, I am proud to be part of building a company with this kind of range and restlessness. We are only just getting started.”

Burns added: “I am delighted to welcome two exceptional artists producing together for the first time with their new company – playwright Nassim Soleimanpour and director Omar Elerian – to our first Monday evening residency at the intimate Duchess Theatre. Every performance of White Rabbit Red Rabbit, a sold-out hit @sohoplace in 2024, is as unique as each of our outstanding company of performers, who appear only once. Definitely worth seeing twice.”