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The Menam River Japanese is a grand-scale historical play on the turbulent life of YAMADA Nagamasa, a hero from Shizuoka Prefecture who was given an important post in the Ayutthaya Kingdom (Thailand) at the beginning of the 17th century. The direction by IMAI Tomohiko, artfully interpreting the relationships among people is brilliant.
　
Direction: IMAI Tomohiko
Text: ENDO Shusaku

Cast

ABE
Kazunori

OUCHI
Tomomi

OOTAKA
Kouichi

KATO
Yukio

KONAGAYA
Katsuhiko

SATO
Yuzu

TAKII
Miki

FUSE
Asuka

bable
　

MISHIMA
Keita

YAMAMOTO
Miyuki

YOSHIUE
Soichiro

WATANABE
Takahiko

Information

2025
18 January, Saturday at 2:00 pm
*Post-performance talk

19 January, Sunday at 2:00 pm
*Guidance for theatre beginners, Backstage tour

15 February, Saturday at 2:00 pm

16 February, Sunday at 2:00 pm

1 March, Saturday at 2:00 pm
*Post-performance talk

2 March, Sunday at 2:00 pm
*Guidance for theatre beginners, Backstage tour

At Shizuoka Arts Theatre
　
In Japanese with English surbtitles
Duration: 135 minutes
*Please refrain from taking infants to the ordinary seats.
　

Related Events

Meet us at Cafe Cinderella!
After the performance, the actors will come to see you off in their stage costumes. We hope you will take this opportunity to interact with the actors!
　
Post-Performance talk by the artists: after the performance.
18 January, Saturday
1 March, Saturday
Free of charge. No reservation required.
　
Backstage tour
The technical staff will take you on a special backstage tour.
19 January, Sunday
2 March, Sunday
Every day, after the performance
Time: About 30 minutes
Free of charge. Reservation required. Up to 40 people.
　
Guidance for theatre beginners
SPAC staff will give beginner audiences a lecture on what to look for and pay attention to before the performance. This event can be participated in by both those seeing the performance for the first time and repeaters.
19 January, Sunday at 12:30
2 March, Sunday at 12:30
Time: About 60 minutes
In Japanese
Free of charge. Reservation required. Up to 30 people.
　

Performances for junior and high-school students

SPAC believes that theaters are a window to the world, and that is why it invites junior high school and high school students in Shizuoka Prefecture to its free-of-charge programs.

Tickets

◆Prior Reservation for Membership begins:
　27 October at 10:00
◆Advance Tickets Sale begins:
　3 November at 10:00
　
◎How to Purchase
at SPAC ticket center (10:00～18:00)
●Phone reservations　+81-54-202-3399
●Purchase at BOX Office

●Online reservations https://spac.or.jp/ticket
　
Day Ticket
Available at the entrance counter for leftover seats, from one hour prior to each performance.
　
◎Ticket Price
*All ticket prices include consumption tax.

●Individual ticket price: 4,200 JPY
●Student Discount:
　［U25 and University students］2,000 JPY
　［High school students and under］1,000 JPY
　*Please present ID/student ID at door
●Disability discount: 2,900 JPY ［for those with a disability pocketbook］
　*Please present disability pocketbook or Mirairo ID at door.
　*Free for One attendant.

　
*More than one discount cannot be claimed per purchase.
*Please claim any discount when making a reservation
　
〔Nursery room〕
For the Shizuoka performances, there is a nursery room where parents can watch the program with their infant children.
*A babysitting service is available on 19 January.
*The only language our childcare staff speaks is Japanese.
*Fee is 1,000 yen per child
*Reservations are required for childcare services.
Please use the form below to make a reservation.
https://forms.gle/o6ESJ2VZQnmkyAut9

Staff

Lighting design: OSAKO Koji
Stage design: FUKASAWA Eri
Sound design: WADA Masashi
Costume design: KOMAI Yumiko

Stage manager: OGAWA Tetsuro
Assistant director: MORIBE Rio
Stage: TSUCHIYA Katsunori, YAMAZAKI Kaoru, MORI Masashi
Lighting operator: HANAWA Yuki
Sound: SAWADA Yukino, TAKESHIMA Chisato
Art work: SATO Yosuke
Wardrobe: MAKINO Saho, IKEDA Yuna
Technical director: MURAMATSU Atsushi
English subtitles translation: Steve CORBEIL
Production: NISHIMURA Ai, KITAHORI Ruka

Flyer design: ABE Taichi (TAICHI ABE DESIGN INC.)
Promotion photo: HASHIMOTO Hirotaka
　
Produced and organized by SPAC-Shizuoka Performing Arts Center
Approved by Fujinokuni Arts Festival

Under the auspices of
Tourism Authority of Thailand, Shizuoka Japan Thailand Association

Supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan through the Japan Arts Council, Japan Foundation for Regional Art-Activities

IMAI Tomohiko

IMAI Tomohiko joined the company of Bungakuza in 1992 and left in 2020. In addition to appearing on many stages as an actor, he also works actively on movie and video contents. As a director, he was engaged in works such as “Pandra’s Bell” (by NODA Hideki), “Noises Off” (by Michael Frayn), “The Good Person of Szechwan” (by Bertold Brecht), “Memorial” (by MATSUBARA Shuntaro), and “Ne” (by ONO Kotaro). At SPAC, he directed “Our Town” (by Thornton Wilder) in 2010 and 2013, which evoked deep emotion among the audience. He won the 31st Kinokuniya Theatre Awards, the Best Actor Award of the 9th Yomiuri Theater Awards, and the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s 62nd Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists.

Did you know that the story of the white hare of Inaba may also be found in the myths of an indigenous community in North America? It is a majestic and festive musical play that interprets a hypothesis advocated by Claude Lévi-Strauss, one of the greatest philosophers, anthropologists, and ethnologists of the 20th Century, with a theatrical imagination.
　
Conception and direction: MIYAGI Satoshi
Text: collective writing of KUBOTA Azumi and the troops
Music: TANAKAWA Hiroko
Space design: KIZ Junpei
Lighting design: OSAKO Koji
Costume&Mask design: TAKAHASHI Kayo
Props design: FUKASAWA Eri
Sound design: HARADA Shinobu
Hair and makeup: KAJITA Kyoko

Cast

ISHII
Moemi

OUCHI
Yoneji

KAGEYAMA
Hisae

KASUGAI
Ippei

KAWAMURA
Wakana

KIUCHI
Kotoko

KIJIMA
Tsuyoshi

SAKURAUCHI
Yu

SUGIYAMA
Ken

SUZUBAYASHI
Mari

DAIDOMUMON
Yuya

TAKEISHI
Morimasa

TATENO
Momoyo

NAGAI
Sayako

NOGUCHI
Shunsuke

HONDA
Maki

MIYAGISHIMA
Haruka

YAMAZAKI
Koji

YOSHIMI
Ryo

WAKAMIYA
Yoichi

WATANABE
Sayaka

Information

＜In Shizuoka＞
19 October, Saturday at 2:00 pm*lecture
20 October, Sunday at 2:00 pm*Post-performance talk
27 October, Sunday at 2:00 pm*Backstage tour
3 November, Sunday at 2:00 pm*Backstage tour
4 November, Monday at 2:00 pm*Backstage tour
9 November, Saturday at 2:00 pm*Backstage tour［Babysitting service］

At Shizuoka Arts Theatre
　
＜In Hamamatsu＞
7 December, Saturday at 13:30 pm
At Hamamatsu Social Welfare and Exchange Center
*Backstage tour (with Portuguese interprtation)
　
＜In Numazu＞
21 December, Saturday at 13:30 pm
At Numazu Civic Culture Center
　
Duration: Approx 110 minutes
In Japanese with English subtitles
*Please tell us beforehand if you want to see the show with preschool children.

Related Events

[In Shizuoka]
Art workshop
Let’s make masks with the props designer FUKASAWA Eri!
21 September, Saturday
13:00～14:30 For Children
15:30～17:30 For Everyone
At Cafe Cinderella, Shizuoka Atrs Theatre
Reservation required. Up to 10 people.
Fee: 2,000 yen
【In Japanese only】
　
Pre-Performance Talk
Starting 25 minutes before each performance.
Free of charge. No reservation required.
【In Japanese only】
　
Lecture -Tracing the history of the work-
“The White Hare of Inaba-Navajo” was premiered as a commissioned work for the 10th anniversary of the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris. SPAC Staff YOKOYAMA Yoshiji will give a lecture on what to look for and pay attention to before the performance.
19 Octorber, Saturday 10:30～12:00
Fee: 1,000 yen / U25 500 yen
Reservation required. Up to 35 people.
【In Japanese only】
　
Meet us at Cafe Cinderella!
After the performance, the actors will come to see you off in their stage costumes. We hope you will take this opportunity to interact with the actors!
　
Post-Performance talk by the artists: after the performance.
20 Octorber, Sunday
Free of charge. No reservation required.
【In Japanese only】
　
Backstage tour
The technical staff will take you on a special backstage tour.
27 October, Sunday
3 November, Sunday
4 November, Monday
9 November, Saturday
After the performance
Time: About 30 minutes
Free of charge. Reservation required. Up to 40 people.
【In Japanese only】

　
＜In Hamamatsu＞
Backstage tour
7 December, Saturday after the performance
Time: About 30 minutes
Free of charge. Reservation required. Up to 40 people.
【In Japanese with Portuguese interprtation】
　

Performances for junior and high-school students

SPAC believes that theaters are a window to the world, and that is why it invites junior high school and high school students in Shizuoka Prefecture to its free-of-charge programs.

Tickets

〈Shizuoka〉
◆Prior Reservation for Membership begins:31 August, Saturday at 10:00 am
◆Advance Tickets Sale begins:7 Sepember, Saturday at 10:00 am

〈Hamamatsu and Numazu〉
◆Prior Reservation for Membership begins:6 October, Sunday at 10:00 am
◆Advance Tickets Sale begins:13 October, Sunday at 10:00 am
　
◎How to Purchase
at SPAC ticket center (10:00～18:00)
●Phone reservations　+81-54-202-3399
●Purchase at BOX Office

●Online reservations https://spac.or.jp/ticket
　
Day Ticket
Available at the entrance counter for leftover seats, from one hour prior to each performance.
　
◎Ticket Price
*All ticket prices include consumption tax.

●Individual ticket price: 4,200 JPY
●Student Discount:
　［U25 and University students］2,000 JPY
　［High school students and under］1,000 JPY
　*Please present ID/student ID at door
●Disability discount: 2,900 JPY ［for those with a disability pocketbook］
　*Please present disability pocketbook or Mirairo ID at door.
　*Free for One attendant.

　
*More than one discount cannot be claimed per purchase.
*Please claim any discount when making a reservation
　
〔Nursery room〕
For the Shizuoka and Numazu performances, there is a nursery room where parents can watch the program with their infant children.
*A babysitting service is available on 9 November.
*The only language our childcare staff speaks is Japanese.
*Fee is 1,000 yen per child
*Reservations are required for childcare services.
Please use the form below to make a reservation.
https://forms.gle/o6ESJ2VZQnmkyAut9
　　

Staff

Assistant director: NAKANO Masaki
Stage manager: HARAIKAWA Yukio
Stage: SUGIYAMA Yuri, HAYASHI Tetsuya
Lighting: KOBAYAKAWA Hiroya
Sound: OTSUKI Minori
Art work: SATO Yosuke
Wardrobe: SEI Chigusa, IKEDA Yuna
Hair and makeup: TAKAHASHI Norimitsu, WAKABAYASHI Akane
Subtitles: OISHI Takako
Production: KUGA Haruko, SATO Hiko

PR Art Director: ABE Taichi(TAICHI ABE DESIGN INC.)
　
　
Produced and organized by SPAC-Shizuoka Performing Arts Center
Approved by Fujinokuni Arts Festival

［Hamamatsu］
Under the auspices of Hamamatsu City Board of Education, Hamamatsu Cultural Foundation
Sponsored by Shunkado Co., Ltd.

[Numazu]
Co-produced by Numazu City Board of Education, Numazu City promotion public corporation
Co-operated by Izu Peninsula Geopark and Tourist Bureau

Supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan through the Japan Arts Council, Japan Foundation for Regional Art-Activities

*Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Musée du quai Branly, “The White Hare of Inaba-Navajo” was premiered in June 2016.

MIYAGI Satoshi

Born in Tokyo in 1959, after studying aesthetics at Tokyo University under ODASHIMA Yushi, WATANABE Moriaki and HIDAKA Hachiro, he founded the KU NA’ UKA theater company in 1990 and soon began staging plays overseas as well as in Japan. As a result, MIYAGI’s work — in which he often fuses contemporary textual interpretations with physical techniques and patterns of Asian theatre — has long been acclaimed both at home and far beyond. Indeed, in 2004 he received the 3rd Asahi Performing Arts Award, and the next year the 2nd Asahi Beer Art Award. Since taking up his position with SPAC in April 2007, MIYAGI has staged many of his own works — including “Medea”, the Hindu epic “Mahabharata”, and “Peer Gynt” — and has invited artists from abroad to present pieces casting a keen eye on the modern world as they see it. In line with his aim to make theatre “a window to the world,” he has also started a new SPAC-based project aimed at the youth of Shizuoka. In 2014, MIYAGI was invited to the Festival d’Avignon, where he received excellent reviews for his open-air version of the Hindu epic “Mahabharata” staged in La Carrière de Bourbon. Following that landmark achievement, the festival extended the honor of inviting MIYAGI to present a Buddhist interpretation he created of the ancient Greek mythological tragedy “Antigone” as its super-prestigious opening program for 2017. On that occasion, which was the first time an Asian play had ever been selected to launch the festival, MIYAGI’s exalted “stage” was the open-air Cour d’honneur du Palais des papes (the Honor Court of the Palace of Popes). By the play’s end, those towering medieval stone walls were ringing out with long and splendid standing ovations welcoming the work’s director and creator along with SPAC’s actors and staff — while more than 60 European media all gave great reviews. In 2018, he received the 68th Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Art Encouragement Prize of Drama. Also he received “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” from the Ministry of Culture of France in 2018. In 2023, he received the Japan Foundation Awards, La médaille d’or du Rayonnement Culturel de La Renaissance Française.

　
◆Presentation at the Musée du quai Branly
Just as Musée du Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Centre Pompidou, Musée du quai Branly is one of the most significant museums in France. In 2006, “Mahabharata – Nalacharitam” (Directed by MIYAGI Satoshi) was widely acclaimed as an opening performance of the Musée du quai Branly’s new Théâtre Claude LÉVI-STRAUSS. Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Musée du quai Branly, “The White Hare of Inaba-Navajo” was premiered in June 2016.
www.quaibranly.fr
　　

▲Image of Paris tour poster(9-19 June, 2016 )

▲2019

　
The legendary stage play by BETSUYAKU Minoru is now handed down to the next generation.

The “patient,” has been hospitalized due to a keloid scar on his back caused by the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. Although the memory of the war is fading, and his wounds now have lost their heroic value, he yearns to come back to where it all started. On the other hand, the “nephew” believes that all the victims should wait for the time to die apart from people, while the “nurse” expresses her desire to have a baby despite the future she certainly knows.

Playwright BETSUYAKU Minoru is renowned for his varied writing endeavors, including children’s stories, essays, and criticism. He has authored 140 plays and is credited with establishing the Japanese absurd play. With an acute awareness of the ambiguous communication style of the Japanese language, he has carved a significant niche in contemporary Japanese theatre history, creating a unique style that evokes a strange and poetic sense of anxiety, emptiness, and alienation in human society. His historic masterpiece “The Elephant” was penned in 1962 for the newly formed company Jiyu Butai, in collaboration with SUZUKI Tadashi (the first General Artistic Director of SPAC), and it left an indelible impact on subsequent generations.

The emotions of the ‘hibakusha’ (atomic bomb survivors) and the alienation they have suffered from society depicted in this work resonate with the present day, where a sense of stagnation prevails. Emerging director EMMA breathes new life into this work and presents it to a world still shaken by war.

　
Direction: EMMA (TOYONAGA Junko)
Text: BETSUYAKU Minoru

▼A scene from the rehearsal at BOX theatre

Cast

MAKIYAMA
Yudai

ABE
Kazunori

YOSHIUE
Soichiro

KONAGAYA
Katsuhiko

SAKAKIBARA
Yuumi

WATANABE
Takahiko

Information

2024
7 December, Saturday at 6:30pm
8 December, Sunday at 2:00pm＊Lecture／Special Talk
14 December, Saturday at 2:00pm＊City walking tour with Japanese guide／Lecture／Backstage tour
15 December, Sunday at 2:00pm＊City walking tour with English guide／Lecture／Backsage tour［Babysitting service］

　
At Shizuoka Arts Theatre
*Notice Regarding English Surtitles
　
Duration：TBA（Be planning to 90min）
In Japanese with English surtitles
*Please refrain from taking infants to the ordinary seats.
　

Related Events

Pre-Performance Talk
Starting 25 minutes before each performance.
Free of charge. No reservation required.
　
Special post-performance talk by the artists who participated in the SCOT SUMMER SEASON 2024 “Momotaro Meeting”: after the performance.
8 December
Free of charge. No reservation required.
　
City Walking Tour of Shizuoka’s War Memories　＊See here for details and application.　https://forms.gle/pRrSMdcSmuXP3rWD6
14 December［with Japanese guides］, 15 December［with English guides］

Japanese tour: 1,000yen / English monitoring tour: free
Reservation required.
*High school students and under…Free of charge
*The English-language monitoring tour on Sunday, March 15 is for foreigners and others who need a guide in English.
*People who have booked “The Elephant” on a different day from this program may also participate. Participation in this tour only is not available.
Cooperation：Shizuoka Peace Center, Volunteer guides “Sumpu Wave”


　
Guidance of BETSUYAKU Minoru for theatre beginners
SPAC staff OOKA Jun will introduce the appeal of BETSUYAKU’s works. This event can be participated in by both those seeing the performance for the first time and repeaters.
［For drama club students］8 December at 12:30pm／［For the public］14 December at 12:30pm
Duration: About 60 minutes
In Japanese
Entry fee: 500yen / High school students and under: free
Reservation required. Up to 30 people.

　
Backstage tour
The technical staff will take you on a special backstage tour.
14 December and 15 December after the performance
Duration: About 30 minutes
Free of charge. Reservation required. Up to 40 people.
　
Meet us at Cafe Cinderella!
After the performance, the actors will come to see you off in their stage costumes. We hope you will take this opportunity to interact with the actors!
　

Ticket Price

4,200 yen (One viewing for regular adult)

●Student Discount:
　［U25 and University students］2,000 yen
　［High school students and under］1,000 yen
　*Please present ID/student ID at door
●Disability discount: 2,900 yen (for those with a disability pocketbook)
　*Please present disability pocketbook or Mirairo ID at door
　*Free for One attendant.

*More than one discount cannot be claimed per purchase.
*Please claim any discount when making a reservation

How to Purchase

◆Prior Reservation for Membership begins:
　6 October at 10:00
◆Advance Tickets Sale begins:
　13 October at 10:00
　
●Online reservations
– Please enter from the language button “English”.
– Payment is possible with the following credit cards: DC, UFJ, NICOS, VISA, and Master. Tickets purchased through this website can be received at the venue from one hour prior to each performance.
　
●Phone reservations
from 10:00-18:00 at SPAC ticket center
TEL. +81-(0)54-202-3399

●Purchase at BOX Office
SPAC ticket center (10:00-18:00)
　
Day Ticket
Available at the entrance counter for leftover seats, from one hour prior to each performance.
*Please confirm ticket availability on the day by phone or by visiting X (@_SPAC_)

*Ticket reservations will finish at 18:00 on the day before the performance.

Please refrain from taking infants to the ordinary seats.
　
［Nursery room］
For the Shizuoka performances, there is a nursery room where parents can watch the program with their infant children.
*A babysitting service is available on 15 December.
*The only language our childcare staff speaks is Japanese.
*Fee is 1,000 yen per child
*Reservations are required for childcare services.
Please use the form below to make a reservation.
https://forms.gle/o6ESJ2VZQnmkyAut9

Staff

Stage design：YOSHIDA Yuna
Lighting design：HANAWA Yuki
Sound design：SAWADA Yukino
Costume design：SEI Chigusa

Stage manager：OGAWA Tetsuro
Stage：YAMAZAKI Kaoru
Lighting：TAKEZAWA Akira　（Shizuoka：MIZUNO Hikaru）
Art work production：MORI Masashi
Wardrobe：MAKINO Saho

English surtitle translation: Roger Pulvers
English surtitling: OISHI Takako
English surtitle manipulation: SUZUKI Mariko

Technical director：MURAMATSU Atsushi
Production：YUKIOKA Jun, SATO Misaki
Production Intern：MIYAGI Hana
Managing director：NARUSHIMA Yoko
　
Flyer design: ABE Taichi (TAICHI ABE DESIGN INC.)

Comission: Japan Cultural Expo 2.0
Organized by Toga Cultural Foundation, Japan Arts Council, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan
Co-hosted by SPAC-Shizuoka Performing Arts Center

SPAC Season Program offers a lineup of the world’s masterpiece plays directed in a modern style. This year, three plays will be staged. The first is “The White Hare of Inaba-Navajo,” a popular play held at SPAC that was originally written and performed as a commissioned work from Musée du Quai Branly in France. The second is “The Elephant,” written by BETSUYAKU Minoru and directed by EMMA (TOYONAGA Junko), a promising director whose work will be performed at SPAC for the first time. The third is the long-awaited replay of “The Menam River Japanese,” written by ENDO Shusaku and directed by IMAI Tomohiko, which was originally scheduled to be performed in February 2020 but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With these selected works, we look forward to seeing you at our theater in the seasons from autumn to spring.

#1

The White Hare of Inaba-Navajo

2024
19, 20, 27,October
3, 4, 9 November
at 2:00pm

At Shizuoka Arts Theatre
In Japanese with English surtitles

　more information　

Did you know that the story of the white hare of Inaba may also be found in the myths of an indigenous community in North America? It is a majestic and festive musical play that interprets a hypothesis advocated by Claude Lévi-Strauss, one of the greatest philosophers, anthropologists, and ethnologists of the 20th Century, with a theatrical imagination.

Conception and direction: MIYAGI Satoshi
Text: collective writing of KUBOTA Azumi and the troops
Music: TANAKAWA Hiroko

Cast: ISHII Moemi, OUCHI Yoneji, KAGEYAMA Hisae, KASUGAI Ippei, KAWAMURA Wakana, KIUCHI Kotoko, KIJIMA Tsuyoshi, SAKURAUCHI Yu, SUGIYAMA Ken, SUZUBAYASHI Mari, DAIDOMUMON Yuya, TAKEISHI Morimasa, TATENO Momoyo, NAGAI Sayako, NOGUCHI Shunsuke, HONDA Maki, MIYAGISHIMA Haruka, YAMAZAKI Koji, YOSHIMI Ryo, WAKAMIYA Yoichi, WATANABE Sayaka
　

Director’s Profile
MIYAGI Satoshi

Born in Tokyo in 1959, after studying aesthetics at Tokyo University under ODASHIMA Yushi, WATANABE Moriaki and HIDAKA Hachiro, he founded the KU NA’ UKA theater company in 1990 and soon began staging plays overseas as well as in Japan. As a result, MIYAGI’s work — in which he often fuses contemporary textual interpretations with physical techniques and patterns of Asian theatre — has long been acclaimed both at home and far beyond. Indeed, in 2004 he received the 3rd Asahi Performing Arts Award, and the next year the 2nd Asahi Beer Art Award. Since taking up his position with SPAC in April 2007, MIYAGI has staged many of his own works — including “Medea”, the Hindu epic “Mahabharata”, and “Peer Gynt” — and has invited artists from abroad to present pieces casting a keen eye on the modern world as they see it. In line with his aim to make theatre “a window to the world,” he has also started a new SPAC-based project aimed at the youth of Shizuoka. In 2014, MIYAGI was invited to the Festival d’Avignon, where he received excellent reviews for his open-air version of the Hindu epic “Mahabharata” staged in La Carrière de Bourbon. Following that landmark achievement, the festival extended the honor of inviting MIYAGI to present a Buddhist interpretation he created of the ancient Greek mythological tragedy “Antigone” as its super-prestigious opening program for 2017. On that occasion, which was the first time an Asian play had ever been selected to launch the festival, MIYAGI’s exalted “stage” was the open-air Cour d’honneur du Palais des papes (the Honor Court of the Palace of Popes). By the play’s end, those towering medieval stone walls were ringing out with long and splendid standing ovations welcoming the work’s director and creator along with SPAC’s actors and staff — while more than 60 European media all gave great reviews. In 2018, he received the 68th Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Art Encouragement Prize of Drama. Also he received “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” from the Ministry of Culture of France in 2018. In 2023, he received the Japan Foundation Awards, La médaille d’or du Rayonnement Culturel de La Renaissance Française.

◉Archive for The White Hare of Inaba-Navajo in 2019
　
　

#2　　New Creation　

The Elephant

2024
7 December at 6:30pm
8, 14, 15 December at 2:00pm

At Shizuoka Arts Theatre
In Japanese with English surtitles

　more information　

The “patient,” hospitalized with a keloid scar on his back caused by an atomic bomb, receives a visit by his nephew. This historic masterpiece was written in 1962 for the new company Jiyu Butai, formed jointly with SUZUKI Tadashi (the first General Artistic Director of SPAC), and it had an enormous impact on generations thereafter. It is directed by EMMA, a promising theater director.

Direction: EMMA (TOYONAGA Junko)
Text: BETSUYAKU Minoru

Cast: ABE Kazunori, KONAGAYA Katsuhiko, SAKAKIBARA Yumi, MAKIYAMA Yudai, YOSHIUE Soichiro, WATANABE Takahiko
　

Director’s Profile
EMMA (TOYONAGA Junko)

EMMA was born in 1988 in Kobe City. She is a play director. She values creating works with the regional community, through research on the region’s inherent culture and history. For the Setouchi Triennale, she created her work with an organization in Shodoshima for the preservation of Kabuki in agricultural villages and the local residents. She believes that a theatrical production itself is an activity to strengthen the relationships among people and to heal their hearts, and seeks the usability of artistic expressions in society. A joint research project represented by EMMA was adopted as a theatrical experiment by the Kyoto University of the Arts, and she is currently engaged in creation activity including fieldwork on islands. She currently works as a part-time lecturer at the Tokyo University of the Arts. She is also an executive director of the Japan Directors Association.

#3

The Menam River Japanese

2025
18, 19 January
15, 16 February
1, 2 March
at 2:00pm

At Shizuoka Arts Theatre
In Japanese with English surtitles

　more information　

The Menam River Japanese is a grand-scale historical play on the turbulent life of YAMADA Nagamasa, a hero from Shizuoka Prefecture who was given an important post in the Ayutthaya Kingdom (Thailand) at the beginning of the 17th century. The direction by IMAI Tomohiko, artfully interpreting the relationships among people is brilliant.

Direction: IMAI Tomohiko
Text: ENDO Shusaku

Cast: ABE Kazunori, OUCHI Tomomi, OOTAKA Kouichi, KATO Yukio, KONAGAYA Katsuhiko, SATO Yuzu, TAKII Miki, FUSE Asuka, bable, MISHIMA Keita, YAMAMOTO Miyuki, YOSHIUE Soichiro, WATANABE Takahiko
　

Director’s Profile
IMAI Tomohiko

IMAI Tomohiko joined the company of Bungakuza in 1992 and left in 2020. In addition to appearing on many stages as an actor, he also works actively on movie and video contents. As a director, he was engaged in works such as “Pandra’s Bell” (by NODA Hideki), “Noises Off” (by Michael Frayn), “The Good Person of Szechwan” (by Bertold Brecht), “Memorial” (by MATSUBARA Shuntaro), and “Ne” (by ONO Kotaro). At SPAC, he directed “Our Town” (by Thornton Wilder) in 2010 and 2013, which evoked deep emotion among the audience. He won the 31st Kinokuniya Theatre Awards, the Best Actor Award of the 9th Yomiuri Theater Awards, and the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s 62nd Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists.

◉Archive for The Menam River Japanese in 2019
　
　

Ticket

#1 “The White Hare of Inaba-Navajo”
〈Shizuoka〉
◆Prior Reservation for Membership begins: Sat. 31 August at 10:00am
◆Advance Tickets Sale begins: Sat. 7 September at 10:00am

〈Hamamatsu and Numazu〉
◆Prior Reservation for Membership begins: Sun. 6 October at 10:00
◆Advance Tickets Sale begins: Sun. 13 October at 10:00

#2 “The Elephant”
◆Prior Reservation for Membership begins: Sun. 6 October at 10:00
◆Advance Tickets Sale begins: Sun. 13 October at 10:00

#3 “The Menam River Japanese”
◆Prior Reservation for Membership begins: Sun. 27 October at 10:00
◆Advance Tickets Sale begins: Sun. 3 November at 10:00
　
◎How to Purchase
at SPAC ticket center (10:00～18:00)
●Phone reservations　+81-54-202-3399
●Purchase at BOX Office

●Online reservations https://spac.or.jp/ticket
　
Day Ticket
Available at the entrance counter for leftover seats, from one hour prior to each performance.
　
◎Ticket Price
*All ticket prices include consumption tax.

●Individual ticket price: 4,200 JPY
●Student Discount:
　［U25 and University students］2,000 JPY
　［High school students and under］1,000 JPY
　*Please present ID/student ID at door
●Disability discount: 2,900 JPY ［for those with a disability pocketbook］
　*Please present disability pocketbook or Mirairo ID at door.
　*Free for One attendant.

　
*More than one discount cannot be claimed per purchase.
*Please claim any discount when making a reservation
　
　
［ “The White Hare of Inaba-Navajo” “The Menam River Japanese” ］
Produced and organized by SPAC-Shizuoka Performing Arts Center
Approved by Fujinokuni Arts Festival

Supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan through the Japan Arts Council

Supported by Japan Foundation for Regional Art-Activities (for “The White Hare of Inaba-Navajo”)

　
［ “The Elephant” ］
Comission: Japan Cultural Expo 2.0
Organized by Toga Cultural Foundation, Japan Arts Council, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan
Co-hosted by SPAC-Shizuoka Performing Arts Center