The first thing Natalie Radmall-Quirke says to us as she comes out onto the stage is ‘I know, sometimes I wish I was Stephen Rea also!’. A good start, always open with a joke, win the audience and put them on side, but I think we are already on side. It’s an odd concept this white rabbiting, and you can tell that everyone feels for the actor as she tears open the script for the first time. She has no idea of what she has got herself involved with, never having read the script, and it’s an exercise of keeping on your toes. The one thing she does know is that she has to do an impression of an ostrich at one point. This is their only homework and happens about 20 minutes in, and I’d have to say Natalie’s Ostrich was excellent!

The first rule of White Rabbit is that you don’t talk about White Rabbit. I’m sure someone else has given the plot away on the net, but I’m not going to. It mostly deals with what it is like to be a writer that is not allowed to see their work on stage, and also to be an actor in front of a room full of people, and never to have read a word of the script. It’s good to see an actor tested to this level, to see what they can come up with and how they deal with what is thrown at them. It is very much the world of improv and as many actors will sink as those that swim. Many will die on stage before your very eyes, and I guess this play is almost an assisted suicide! An actor only get one shot at this play, so each day is unique and different, which is part of the fun It is as much an experiment as it is a play, and in this case, Natalie lived up to any expectation.

White Rabbit, Red Rabbit continues until September 22, with tickets at €8-10.