Playwright Nassim Soleimanpour and director Omar Elerian have announced the launch of a new independent theatre company, There & Then.
The company’s inaugural production will see Soleimanpour’s internationally acclaimed theatrical experiment White Rabbit Red Rabbit return to London’s West End during its 15th anniversary year.
Presented in association with Nica Burns, the production will run at the Duchess Theatre from 8 June to 2 November 2026, with performances taking place weekly on Monday evenings.
In White Rabbit Red Rabbit, a different performer takes to the stage each night and opens a sealed envelope containing a script they have never seen before. With no rehearsal and no director, each performance becomes a one-off event shaped by the performer’s response to the unknown.
The initial roster of artists includes David Harewood, David Tennant, Jo Joyner, Asim Chaudhry, Luke Thompson, Jodie Whittaker, Kathryn Hunter, Kunal Nayyar, Archie Madekwe and Riz Ahmed, with further casting to be announced.
First performed in 2011, White Rabbit Red Rabbit was written while Soleimanpour was forbidden to leave Iran. The play explores obedience, choice and freedom of expression, and has now been translated into more than 25 languages and performed over 4,000 times worldwide.
There & Then has emerged from a decade-long collaboration between Soleimanpour and Elerian, whose previous work includes Echo at the Royal Court Theatre and Nassim at the Bush Theatre.
Nassim 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.”
Omar Elerian said: “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 Roz 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.”
Nica 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!”
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
