M.T. Pockets fundraiser features local artist Jamie Lester at 123 Pleasant Street

To celebrate its 25th anniversary, M.T. Pockets Theatre Company is producing one of the most toured plays in the contemporary history of theater.

According to The Guardian, “White Rabbit Red Rabbit” is “… an absurdist adventure which sits on the boundary of comedy and drama.”

On March 13, local artist Jamie Lester will perform this role at 123 Pleasant Street, which also is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

No rehearsals. No director. No set. No do-overs. No repeats. No encores. “White Rabbit” is a theatrical journey into the unknown that holds endless possibilities.

Forbidden to leave his country, playwright Nassim Soleimanpour distilled the experience into this play. “What Rabbit Red Rabbit” is a work about contemporary Iran and of Nassim’s generation, born amidst the hardship of the Iran-Iraq war. It is a generation of computer-literate, well-informed young people who have never known an Iran other than the Islamic Republic.

Since its joint premiere in 2011 in Edinburgh and Summerworks festival, the play has been translated into more than 30 different languages and performed over 3,000 times by some of the biggest names in theater and film, including actors John Hurt, Whoopi Goldberg, Nathan Lane, Stephen Rea, Sinead Cusack, Marcus Brigstocke, Dominic West and film director Ken Loach.

This play is not overtly political, and should not be portrayed as such. It operates on a deeper, metaphoric level and expressly avoids overt political comment.

M.T. Pockets Theatre Company is a 501(c)3 NPO supported, in part, by grants from the Greater Morgantown Community Trust/Morgantown Arts Fund, the Monongalia County Commission and Arts Mon.

Founded in 1999 by Morgantown native Toni Morris, the company exists to provide high-quality, affordable entertainment to the Greater Morgantown area by presenting a broad range of works that include new and established plays, productions that reach beyond the normal limits and give new insights to sensitive issues, and provide a venue for women and alternative theatre in the performing arts.

M.T. Pockets Theatre produces shows year-round, presents an annual fundraising event, tours when possible and performs murder-mysteries and other productions at private functions.