Weißes Kaninchen, rotes Kaninchen - das weltweit meistgespielte Theaterexperiment

What happens when an actor or actress walks onto the stage and doesn’t know what to expect?

Sandra Hüller has done it. So has Michael Sheen. Christoph Maria Herbst, too. They’ve all taken part in this extraordinary theatrical experiment.

On September 13, it’s the turn of Cologne-based actress and activist Saha Angourani. 

And she herself doesn’t yet know what to expect.

Because in “White Rabbit, Red Rabbit,” there are no rehearsals and no director. The actress knows neither the script nor the course of the evening. She receives the script only on stage, right in front of the audience. Whatever happens happens for the first and only time: reading, acting, reacting, and deciding.

The text guides her through a story about trust, power, obedience, and the question of how free our decisions truly are. At times absurd and humorous, at times unsettling and personal, a one-of-a-kind evening unfolds before the audience’s eyes—one that can never be repeated exactly the same way. Because after her performance, Saha knows the content of the text and is therefore never allowed to perform the play again. 

A global theater phenomenon

Behind this unusual concept lies the moving story of the Iranian author Nassim Soleimanpour. Because he refused to perform military service, his passport was revoked and he was not allowed to leave Iran.

In his isolation, he placed his trust in the transformative power of theater and wrote a play that was meant to travel the world in his place and engage in dialogue with the audience. His plan worked: since its world premiere in 2011, the play has been translated into 30 languages and performed over 3,000 times in 50 countries. Now this extraordinary theatrical experience is coming to Cologne.

Content and Experiment 

The lack of a script makes the play a radical theatrical experiment—not just in form. In terms of content, too, the audience becomes part of a metaphorical rabbit experiment.

In terms of content, the play is a highly gripping blend of entertainment, psychological experiment, and political parable. Soleimanpour wrote the text as a kind of “message in a bottle” and uses the actors’ voices to explore themes such as freedom, censorship, and the denial of individual agency under an authoritarian regime.

Why are the author’s rules so strictly defined? 

This is precisely where the playwright’s clever exploration of power, manipulation, and obedience begins. We’re already following his rules, even before we’ve seen the play at all. You’re buying a ticket to a play that thrives on remaining as secret as possible. You trust us, but maybe tonight you’ll become accomplices—who knows? 

For all of us, this means taking a real leap of faith. Because we have just as little idea what’s going to happen as you do.  

Come on by and let’s take on this experiment together. 

Date: September 13, 2026

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. | Show starts at 6:00 p.m.
Location: Hall at the Allerweltshaus, Cologne

“White Rabbit, Red Rabbit” with Saha Angourani 
Followed by a Q&A session : “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî. And now?”

More info here:https://theatercolonia.de/weisseskaninchenroteskaninchen/ 

Proceeds from this project will go toward charitable initiatives, includingWoman Life Freedom Unityfor their project “Never Silent Again” and the short film“KATÝ: A Day in the Life of a Young Iranian Woman.”