Reviewed by Martίn Hernández
Fountain Theatre
Through June 22
RECOMMENDED
Pretty much every theater production’s live performance can be a bit different on a given night. Often it is inadvertent — a missed cue, a dropped prop, or hopefully a new dramatic inkling from the performers. But in the case of Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour, the whole point of the show is difference. No rehearsal. No director. A different actor at each solo performance. The actors do not see the script until it is unsealed for them just as they step on stage to perform it. A bold experiment? A disaster in the making? That all depends on the bond of trust between the actor and audience as they embark on Soleimanpour’s timely and thought-provoking journey, a stirring critique of authoritarianism and the tragedy of how easily well-meaning people acquiesce to it — even some of us in the audience.
Soleimanpour wrote this semi-autobiographical play in 2010 in response to the Iranian government’s harsh action against him, outlining the inciting moment in the text. Now residing (supposedly) safely in London, he uses outlandish fables and sly metaphors to circumvent the backlash that could have befallen him while in Iran. The dilemma for a reviewer, of course, is that what he or she experiences of the show will be different from whatever a future attendee encounters. So, if you do plan to attend, it may be best to see the show knowing as little about it as possible — in other words, read on at your own risk. Yet, if future performers commit to the play as much as Kurt Fuller, the veteran actor who performed the night this reviewer was present, you will be entertained, engaged, and unsettled.
Fuller delivered an excellent and nuanced performance. He starts off as The Actor — Soleimanpour’s alter ego — by explaining the presence of two glasses of water perched on the desk he eventually occupies, vessels that will play key roles throughout the show. He then regales us with a fable of a bear and a rabbit at the circus that starts off comically but then spirals into one of oppression. At another point, The Actor recounts the fable of an elder relative and his rabbits (from whence the play’s title arises) that exemplifies how cruelty can become a ghoulish tradition, conducted reflexively generation after generation.
While Fuller is known in TV and film as a comedic foil and here displays that side of his abundant talents, he can easily pivot to moving drama and robust anger — and does so. He is also adept at holding a script and turning its pages while meandering around the red and white painted floor and props. In a poignant sequence, The Actor explains how an action he took that was contrary to a government policy resulted in the denial of a passport, a virtual ban on leaving Iran. A captive in his country, The Actor felt he might free himself by writing a play. That way, since the past makes the future and the future makes the past, perhaps his words will connect with people in the future irrespective of what country they are in.
Initially hopeful, Soleimanpour’s words eventually become words of warning, as authoritarians around the world clamp down on free speech and democratic protest, invoking the so-called “rule of law,” often with the approval of the people they govern.
The Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., E. Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., Mon.,8 pm; Sun., 2 pm; thru June 22. FountainTheatre.com Running time: one hour
