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The opening show of “SPAC AUTUMN-SPRING 2022-2023”, is the phenomenal adventure “Peer Gynt” written by Norwegian great author Henrik IBSEN based on Nordic folklore. You will experience the tremendous journey of Peer with grand live musical performances by the actors. The director MIYAGI Satoshi depicts untold analogies between this 150 years old closet drama and the history of Japan around the time the book was published; when the country was opening to the world.
The stage of this early masterpiece by MIYAGI and SPAC will finally come again after a period of ten years!

　

Directed by MIYAGI Satoshi
Written by Henrik Johan IBSEN
Translated by MORI Mitsuya
Music by TANAKAWA Hiroko

　
Outline of the story　
Peer Gynt, living with his mother Åse, is ridiculed by the whole village. He is a big-mouth daydreamer who has no hesitation in boasting that he will become an emperor, and goes on a rampage when drunk. Although he meets his destiny Solveig at the wedding of Ingrid, a landowner’s daughter, he runs off by kidnapping the bride. However, he soon gets rid of Ingrid and next tries to marry the daughter of the troll king, but fails to become a troll himself and flees back to his village. Although Peer is expelled from his home village and about to starts living in the forest alone, Solveig arrives to Peer after leaving everything behind to live with him.
　

　

Cast

　

Information

2022
8 October, Saturday at 2:00pm　*Post-performance talk
9 October, Sunday at 2:00pm　*Guidance of Ibsen for theatre beginners
29 October, Saturday at 2:00pm　*Backstage lecture
30 October, Sunday at 2:00pm　*Backstage lecture
5 November, Saturday at 2:00pm*Backstage lecture
6 November, Sunday at 2:00pm　*Backstage lecture

　
Duration：About 150 minutes
In Japanese with English subtitles
*Please refrain from taking infants to the ordinary seats.

At：Shizuoka Arts Theatre
2-3-1 Higashishizuoka, Suruga-ku Shizuoka City, Shizuoka, Japan
● Approx. 5 minutes walk from South exit of JR Higashi-Shizuoka Station.
The entrance is on the east side (towards Shimizu) of the Granship building.
For more information, please click here:
https://spac.or.jp/en/access

　

《COVID-19 Prevention Measures》
Requests to All Visitors

In addition to the following, please be sure to read [Important] Measures for Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 and Requests to All Visitors as well.

●Please check your physical condition before coming to the theater.
(If you have a fever or other symptoms, please refrain from visiting the theater.)
●Your body temperature will be taken at the theater entrance using thermography or a non-contact thermometer. If your temperature exceeds 37.5 degrees Celsius, you will be asked to refrain from entering the theater.

Related Events

Pre-Performance Talk
Starting 25 minutes before each performance.
Free of charge. No reservation required.
　
Post-performance talk by the artists: after the performance.
8 October, Saturday
Free of charge. No reservation required.

　
Backstage lecture
The technical staff will explain behind the scenes.
29 October, Saturday
30 October, Sunday
5 November, Saturday
6 November, Sunday
Every day, after the performance
Time: About 30 minutes
Free of charge. No reservation required.　
　
　

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.
It is scheduled that about 2,500 students from about 18 junior high and high schools in the prefecture will view the work at Shizuoka Arts Theatre.

　

Ticket Price

4,200 yen (One viewing for regular adult)

SPAC Membership Discount
3,500 yen (One viewing for regular adult)

Pair Discount
3,700 yen per person

Group Discount
3,300 yen per person for group of 3 or more

Senior Discount
3,500 yen for seniors over 60
*Please present ID at door

Student Discount
2,000 yen (University)
1,000 yen (High School and under)
*Please present school ID at door

Handicap Discount
2,900 yen (for those who possess handicap passbook)
　
*Cannot use more than one discount per purchase.
*Please inform use of discount when making reservation.

How to Purchase

Prior Reservation for Membership begins: 27 August at 10:00
Advance Tickets Sale begins: 3 September 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 Twitter (@_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］ (One family only per performance)
For the Shizuoka performances, there is a nursery room where parents can watch the program with their infant children.
*This service can only be reserved by phone or at the box office.
*A babysitting service is available on November 6.

Staff

Lighting design: OSAKO Koji
Stage design: FUKASAWA Eri
Costume design: TAKEDA Toru
Sound design: HARADA Shinobu
Hair and makeup design: KAJITA Kyoko
Stage manager: HARAIKAWA Yukio
Stage: FURUYA Kazumi, SUGIYAMA Yuri, ICHIKAWA Kazumi, FUJISHIRO Shuhei
Lighting: HANAWA Yuuki, MIZUNO Hikaru
Sound: TAKESHIMA Chisato
Art Work: SATO Yosuke
Wardrobe: SATO Rise, YAMAMOTO Kana
Hair and makeup: TAKAHASHI Norimitsu, WAKABAYASHI Akane
English subtitles translation: Sabine STADLER OKUNO
English subtitles operation: OISHI Takako, KATAOKA Sachiko
Assistant Director: NAKANO Masaki
Technical director: MURAMATSU Atsushi
Production: YONEYAMA Junichi, SAKANAKA Toshiki, OISHI Takako
Flyer design: ABE Taichi (TAICHI ABE DESIGN INC.)
　　
Produced by SPAC-Shizuoka Performing Arts Center
Supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan through the Japan Arts Council

　

　
【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 Boulbon. 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 recieved “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” from the Ministry of Culture of France in 2018.

　

Performing Arts in Nature
— Looking to the Future of the World

FY 2022 Japan Cultural Expo Project Presented and Co-presented by Japan Arts Council and Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan

　
“This light burns the human body but it also forever flares my mind.”

Toshinori, a young blind man, describes “what he saw at the end of the world.”
He keeps denying the real world and referring to it as a “ghost.” Is there any future for him?

In a room at a family court, two couples are contesting for custody over a beautiful young man named Toshinori, who was orphaned by war, and lost his sight fifteen years ago. While the conciliation is in deadlock Shinako, the mediator, finally decides to have a one-to-one talk with Toshinori,,,.

“Yoroboshi” by MISHIMA Yukio is a piece from “Modern Noh Plays” in which MISHIMA turned traditional noh verses into a modern play. Director is ISHIGAMI Natsuki, a playwright who has worked on art projects concerning cities and communities.
—Seeking the world that Toshinori saw and the light beyond—

　

　　

Directed by：ISHIGAMI Natsuki
Written by：MISHIMA Yukio（From “Modern Noh Plays”）

　

Cast

　

Information

2022
17 September Saturday, at 15:30pm
18 September Sunday, at 15:30pm
19 September Monday, at 15:30pm

At BOX Theatre, Shizuoka Performing Arts Park

Duration:Within 90minuites（to be determined）

In Japanese
*Please refrain from taking infants to the ordinary seats.
*The tickets are sold out. From now on we are accepting applications to join the waiting list (via phone only).

　
　

《COVID-19 Prevention Measures》
Requests to All Visitors

* There will be a distance of more than 3m between the front row and the actors speaking on stage.
* Performers will appear on the stage only after having a negative result from a COVID-19 PCR test or antigen test.

In addition to the following, please be sure to read [Important] Measures for Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 and Requests to All Visitors as well.

●Please check your physical condition before coming to the theater.
(If you have a fever or other symptoms, please refrain from visiting the theater.)
●Please be sure to wear a mask when you visit the theater.
●Your body temperature will be taken at the theater entrance using thermography or a non-contact thermometer. If your temperature exceeds 37.5 degrees Celsius, you will be asked to refrain from entering the theater.

　

Access

BOX Theatre, Shizuoka Performing Arts Park
100-1 Hirasawa, Suruga-ku Shizuoka City, Shizuoka, Japan
Access Page
● Approx. 8 minutes walk from the parking place.

Recommendation
Please take our charter buses for Shizuoka Performing Arts Park instead of a private car.

To the park

Bus stop at South exit of JR Higashi-Shizuoka Sta. ↓ Shizuoka Performing Arts Park

14：00 ↓ 14：15

14：45 ↓ 15：00

※It runs after the show ended.

　

Ticket Price

4,200 yen (One viewing for regular adult)

SPAC Membership Discount
3,500 yen (One viewing for regular adult)

Pair Discount
3,700 yen per person

Group Discount
3,300 yen per person for group of 3 or more

Senior Discount
3,500 yen for seniors over 60
*Please present ID at door

Student Discount
2,000 yen (University)
1,000 yen (High School and under)
*Please present school ID at door

Handicap Discount
2,900 yen (for those who possess handicap passbook)
　
　
*Cannot use more than one discount per purchase.
*Please inform use of discount when making reservation.

How to Purchase

Prior Reservation for Membership begins: 23 July at 10:00
Advance Tickets Sale begins: 30 July 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 Twitter (@_SPAC_)

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

Staff

Lighting design：OSAKO Koji
Set design：Nomura Yoshifumi
Costume design：SATO Rise
Stage manager : OGAWA Tetsuro
Stage : TSUCHIYA Katsunori
Lighting operation：KOBAYAKAWA Hiroya
Sound : WADA Masashi
Assistant set design：SATO Yosuke
Wardrobe : MAKINO Saho (for the performances in Shizuoka)
Costume production：IZUMI Mai, UMEHARA Masako, FUKAZAWA Yuka（Shizuoka Professional Training College of Design）
Technical director : MURAMATSU Atsushi
Production : IRIE Kyohei, TANJI Haru
Production Intern：KOYAMA Eri
Managing director：NARUSHIMA Yoko

Flyer design: ABE Taichi (TAICHI ABE DESIGN INC.)
Flyer illustration：MAKITA Natsumi（F4,5）

　
Organized by：Toga Cultural Foundation, Japan Arts Council, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan
Co-hosted by: SPAC-Shizuoka Performing Arts Center
Comission：FY 2022 Japan Cultural Expo Project Presented and Co-presented by Japan Arts Council and Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan

It is the Taisho era, where humans and sprits come and go in IZUMI Kyoka’s world of fantasy.
This very popular spectacle presented by MIYAGI Satoshi and SPAC will enthrall you with beautiful scenes and costumes, coupled with stirring live music!

　

Directed by MIYAGI Satoshi
Written by IZUMI Kyoka
Music: TANAKAWA Hiroko
Stage design: FUKASAWA Eri
Costume design: TAKEDA Toru

　

Outline of the story　
Long ago, the villagers made a promise with the dragon goddess of Yashagaike pond. “We will toll the bell three times a day, lest the dragon goddess leap out of the pond and flood the village…”
YAMAZAWA Gakuen visits the village and finds out that his old schoolmate HAGIWARA Akira, who had disappeared, has taken over the role of tolling the bell in the heart of the mountain after marrying Yuri, a young woman from the village. However, Lady Shirayuki, the dragon goddess who cannot leave the pond because of the promise, pines for her true love—the young lord of Senjagaike pond on the other side of the mountain—and tries to break the bell…
Meanwhile, in the drought-stricken village, the villagers are conspiring to sacrifice Yuri for the rain ritual.
　

　

Cast

　

Information

2022
22 January, Saturday at 2:00pm
*Guidance for theatre beginners
23 January, Sunday at 2:00pm
*Post-performance talk
29 January, Saturday at 2:00pm
*Guidance for theatre beginners
*Backstage lecture
30 January, Sunday at 2:00pm
*Backstage lecture
6 February, Sunday at 2:00pm
*Post-performance talk
12 February, Saturday at 2:00pm
*Backstage lecture
13 February, Sunday at 2:00pm
*Backstage lecture
19 February, Saturday at 2:00pm
*Backstage lecture
23 February, Wednesday at 2:00pm *
*Post-performance talk
5 March, Saturday at 2:00pm
*Backstage lecture
　
Duration: About 90 minutes
In Japanese with English subtitles
*Please refrain from taking infants to the ordinary seats.
*The tickets are sold out. From now on we are accepting applications to join the waiting list (via phone only).

Venue: Shizuoka Arts Theatre
2-3-1 Higashishizuoka, Suruga-ku Shizuoka City, Shizuoka, Japan
● Approx. 5 minutes walk from South exit of JR Higashi-Shizuoka Station.
The entrance is on the east side (towards Shimizu) of the Granship building.
For more information, please click here: https://spac.or.jp/en/access
　

《COVID-19 Prevention Measures》
Requests to All Visitors

In addition to the following, please be sure to read [Important] Measures for Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 and Requests to All Visitors as well.

●Please check your physical condition before coming to the theater.
(If you have a fever or other symptoms, please refrain from visiting the theater.)
●Please be sure to wear a mask when you visit the theater.
●Your body temperature will be taken at the theater entrance using thermography or a non-contact thermometer. If your temperature exceeds 37.5 degrees Celsius, you will be asked to refrain from entering the theater.
●Please fill out and submit the visitor card.
(In the event of an outbreak of infection, we may provide the submitted information to public institutions such as health centers.)
※For this fiscal year, the balcony seats on the 1st floor of Shizuoka Arts Theatre are available if you maintain distance from the members of the audience around you.
Please contact the SPAC Ticket Center for further information.

Related events

Pre-Performance Talk
Starting 25 minutes before each performance.
Free of charge. No reservation required.
　
Post-performance talk by the artists: after the performance.
23 January, Sunday
6 February, Sunday
23 February, Wednesday
Free of charge. No reservation required.
　
Backstage lecture
The technical staff will explain behind the scenes.
29 January, Saturday
30 January, Sunday
12 February, Saturday
13 February, Sunday
19 February, Saturday
5 March, Saturday
Every day, after the performance
Time: About 30 minutes
Free of charge. No reservation required.　
　
Guidance for theatre beginners
SPAC actors 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.
22 January, Saturday
29 January, Saturday
12:30～13:30
In Japanese
Free of charge. Reservation required. Up to 20 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.
It is scheduled that about 6,300 students from about 40 junior high and high schools in the prefecture will view the work at Shizuoka Arts Theatre.
　

Ticket Price

4,200 yen (One viewing for regular adult)

SPAC Membership Discount
3,500 yen (One viewing for regular adult)

Pair Discount
3,700 yen per person

Group Discount
3,300 yen per person for group of 3 or more

Senior Discount
3,500 yen for seniors over 60
*Please present ID at door

Student Discount
2,000 yen (University)
1,000 yen (High School and under)
*Please present school ID at door

Handicap Discount
2,900 yen (for those who possess handicap passbook)
　
*Cannot use more than one discount per purchase.
*Please inform use of discount when making reservation.

How to Purchase

Prior Reservation for Membership begins: 4 December at 10:00
Advance Tickets Sale begins: 11 December 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 Twitter (@_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］ (One family only per performance)
For both the Shimoda and Shizuoka performances, there is a nursery room where parents can watch the program with their infant children.
*This service can only be reserved by phone or at the box office.
　

Staff

Lighting design: HIGUCHI Masayuki
Hair and makeup: KAJITA Kyoko
Stage manager: HARAIKAWA Yukio
Stage: FURUYA Kazumi、YAMAZAKI Kaoru, MORIBE Rio, ICHIKAWA Kazumi
Lighting: MORITA Honoka, MIZUNO Hikaru
Sound: HARADA Shinobu, OTSUKI Minori
Wardrobe: MAKINO Saho, YAMAMOTO Kana
Production: KUGA Haruko, SUZUKI Tatsumi, KOMIE Kaoru
Flyer design: ABE Taichi (TAICHI ABE DESIGN INC.)
　　
Produced by SPAC-Shizuoka Performing Arts Center
Supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan through the Japan Arts Council

　

　
　
【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 Boulbon. 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 recieved “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” from the Ministry of Culture of France in 2018.

　
LIN Lee-chen
Born in Taiwan in 1950. LIN Lee-Chen is the Choreographer and Artistic Director of Legend Lin Dance Theatre. Over forty-five years, she has worked on numerous dance pieces, leading the Taiwanese dance world. In 1995, she founded Legend Lin Dance Theatre and participated in some major international festivals where she earned her esteemed reputation. In 2002, she was selected as among one of the eight most significant contemporary choreographers in the world by ARTE, an important arts and culture television channels in Europe. In 2008, Legend Lin Dance Theatre participated in the Beijing Olympic Festival. It was the first time that a Taiwanese performance group received an official invitation to perform at National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing. After “Miroirs de Vie”, “Hymne aux Fleurs qui Passent”, she finally completed “Song of Pensive Beholding”; the trilogy of her tribute to Heaven, Earth, and Man thus realized. She has also staged performances at Festival d’Avignon, Théâtre National de Chaillot, Biennale de la Danse de Lyon, Chekhov International Theatre Festival, Festival Internacional Cervantino, etc.

　
Legend Lin Dance Theatre
www.legend-lin.org.tw
The history of Legend Lin Dance Theatre is very much the story of its artistic director and choreographer LIN Lee-chen. A graduate of the Chinese Culture University, LIN founded the repertory company for the purpose of presenting large-scale performance works that reflect the spirit and culture of her native Taiwan. Inspired by local religious rituals and ceremonial rites celebrating the rhythms of nature and our place in it, the artistry of the Legend Lin Dance Theatre blends a lush visual aesthetics with a brilliantly original choreography that gives new meaning to the phrase “poetry in motion.” A show-stealer at the Festival d’Avignon in 1998, “Miroirs de Vie” was inspired by the Jiao, a Daoist open-air ceremony held during the Ghost Festival in the seventh lunar month, when the angry spirits of the un-cared-for dead are temporarily allowed to return to the world of the living. Having grown up in the harbor town of Keelung, where the Jiao has been practiced for centuries, LIN was a frequent witness to the power and beauty of this appeasement ceremony, and her “Miriors de Vie” is an aesthetic tribute to this local cultural tradition. In its many appearances overseas, the company has won praise from critics and audiences alike. Its “Hymne aux Fleurs qui Passent”, which pays tribute to the cycle of the seasons and the complementary principles of Yin and Yang, garnered the Prix du Public at the 9th Biennale de la Danse de Lyon in 2000 and broke attendance records at the Festival de Otoño the following year. The work was subsequently performed in Italy, Germany, Austria, U.S. and Mexico, bringing Legend Lin Dance Theatre onto the world stage. In 2009, invited by the National Theater & Concert Hall, National Performing Arts Center (former National Chiang Kai-Shek Cultural Center) as Flagship production of the year, Legend Lin Dance Theatre presents the final work of the series, “Song of Pensive Beholding” after nine years. Inspired by watching the eagles at Keelung Harbor, LIN Lee-chen’s hometown, the choreographer weaves her original tribal myth with a pensive eye, reflecting on the harm done to our environment and ourselves by human avarice. This long-awaited piece completes the trilogy of Lin’s tribute to Heaven, Earth, and Man, and once again stuns the world stage. With this production, Legend Lin paid its first visit to one of the most prestigious theater in the world — Théâtre national de Chaillot in Paris in 2011, and also made a big success in Hong Kong World Culture Festival, Teatro Alfa in Brazil, Chekhov International Theatre Festival in Moscow and Festival Internacional Cervantino in Mexico in the following years.
　

Dance / TAIWAN
Artistic director and choreographer: LIN Lee-Chen
Produced by Legend Lin Dance Theatre

Information

2 May at 13:30
3 May at 14:30
At Shizuoka Arts Theatre　access
Duration: 120 minutes
*Each day the pre-performance talk is held 20 minutes before the show.
*Post-Performance Talk by LIN Lee-Chen on 3 May.

Ticket

Click for details of ticket price ↑
　
Phone Reservation
SPAC Ticket Center
TEL. +81-(0)54-202-3399 (10:00-18:00)
　

Introduction

Is this a dance?
It flows like a river,
Like the truth of the universe.
Legend Lin Dance Theatre was founded in 1995 and has since created three pieces of work within a single series. They ensure the positive and negative mutually support each other and form a pluralistic universe in which people, spirit and god, can coexist. “Song of Pensive Beholding”, which will be staged this time, is the final part of a trilogy, and has been created over a period of nine years. Through the eyes of the eagle that flies in the sky, this piece looks mercifully upon desire and the flow of the soul. It completes a journey that unlocks the myth of the body. Overwhelming in its display of the body’s strength and sophisticated and beautiful placement, within the piece, like a mandala, are conflicting elements that coexist. It draws into one’s mind solemnness and harmony that has been scattered over many years, and evokes an emotion similar to liberation.

Perfect calm and freedom!
Leading Taiwanese Culture,
Global Choreographer LIN Lee-Chen.
LIN Lee-Chen is artistic director of Legend Lin Dance Theatre that has won praises in the world. She is also a costume designer who can create the elaborate world. Holding the belief that the soul of predecessors dwells in the crafts that they left, she skillfully captures these colors and designs into the visual elements of her work. While Taiwanese locality is the origin of the piece, LIN did not stay in this local consciousness. While creating this dance work, her world goes beyond the frame of dance. Born out of a long and intense creation process, one cannot help but watch this gem. This piece is both very traditional and highly avant-garde. It is a depiction of whom you pray to for life’s happiness, and by watching, your soul will be led back to your inner earth.

Staff/Cast

Artistic Director and choreographer: LIN Lee-Chen
Visual concept: LIN Lee-Chen
Chinese Calligraphy: CHENG Yen-Ping
Lighting design: CHENG Kuo-Yang
Costume design: YIP Tim
Set design: CHENG Wang, CHEN Nien-Chou
Photographer: CHIN Cheng-Tsai, CHEN Tien-Mou
Rehearsal master: TSAY Bi-Jue
Associate rehearsal master: CHENG Chieh-Wen
Text: CHENG Chieh-Wen, LO Yu-Chia, CHEN Wei-Shiang

Singer: HSU Ching-Chwen
Musicians: HUANG Chih-Lin, HO Yi-Ming
Dancer:
[White Bird] WU Ming-Ching
[The death of White Bird] WANG Chien-Yi
[Samo] PING Yen-Ning
[Yaki] CHENG Chieh-Wen
Female dancer: LIN Jui-Yu, FENG Kai-Lun, WU Chia-Chien, CHEN Yi-Yi, CHANG Ya-Han, WU Pei-Chien, CHANG Yun-Chen, CHAN Hui-Fang, CHENG Yu-Shu, LAI Szu-Ying
Male dancer: HUANG Yao-Ting, CHEN Hsuan-Ting, KAO Pao-Chuan, GUO Ding-Wei, CHU Cheng-Kang

Producer: CHEN Nien-Chou
Technical director: CHENG Kuo-Yang
Stage manager: CHENG Tzu-Wei
Sound engineer: KAO Hung-Chia, Chieh Yun Corp.
Technical assistant: YIN Hao
Executive secretary: CHENG Chieh-Wen
Administrative consultant: LIAO Yo-Jen
Administrators: LIU San-San, WU Min-Fang, CHEN Wei-Shiang
Wardrobe Management: CHANG Chia-Chi
Prop Management: HUANG Yao-Ting
Make-up Management: LIN Jui-Yu
Hair accessory Management: WU Ming-Ching
Costume Management: WANG Chien-Yi
Music Management: CHENG Chieh-Wen

2009 NTCH Flagship Production

Commissioned and Produced by National Performing Arts Center – National Theater & Concert Hall
Produced by Legend Lin Dance Theatre
Supported by Ministry of Culture, Republic of China (Taiwan) ,
The Taipei Cultural Center, Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan
Acknowledgement: Preparatory Office of the National Human Rights Museum

　　

　
Daniel JEANNETEAU
Director and set designer. Born in 1963 in Moselle, France. After graduating from l’Ecole des Arts Décoratifs de Strasbourg, JEANNETEAU went on to study theatre at l’École du Théâtre National de Strasbourg. In 1989 he met director Claude REGY. JEANNETEAU went on to produce all the set designs for REGY’s productions for fifteen years. Since 2001 he has collaborated with Marie-Christine SOMA and they directed pieces by Strindberg, Racine and Keene. In 2005 he directed “Blasted” by Sarah KANE at the Strasbourg National Theatre. At SPAC he directed “Blasted” in 2009 and “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee WILLIAMS in 2011. He has been the artistic director of Studio-Théâtre de Vitry since 2008.

　

　
SPAC’s New production
Theatre/JAPAN (Shizuoka), FRANCE
Directed by Daniel JEANNETEAU
Written by Maurice MAETERLINCK
Translated by HIRANO Akihito
Performed by OUCHI Yoneji, KATO Yukio, KIJIMA Tsuyoshi, KONAGAYA Katsuhiko, TERAUCHI Ayako, FUSE Asuka, YOKOYAMA Hisashi / (as extra) OCHIAI Hisanobu, KOBAYASHI Kiyomi, HAMAZAKI Kuniko, MASUI Noriyo, YASOHAMA Kikuko
Produced by SPAC -Shizuoka Performing Arts Center

Information

25 April, 2, 4 and 5 May, at 19:00
In the forest at Nihon-Daira
(Meeting point: BOX Theatre, Shizuoka Performing Arts Park)
Then, you will be requested to move to the performance site by foot.
Duration: 90110 minutes (including transfer)　　In Japanese

Ticket

Click for details of ticket price ↑
*Please don’t miss the meeting time of 19:00 at BOX theatre. If coming late, you can not attend the performance. Thank you for your understanding.
　
Phone Reservation
SPAC Ticket Center
TEL. +81-(0)54-202-3399 (10:00-18:00)
　

Introduction

A dark night in the forest of Nihon-Daira
Experience the serene world of MAETERLINCK!
In Japan the image of MAETERLINCK is strongly governed by his fairytale works such as “Blue Bird”. Last year at Festival d’Avignon, however, SPAC staged “Intérieur” (directed by Claude REGY), a work depicting the darkness and despair within humans and such his manner made him famous in European literary world. In this drama silence and quiet have important meanings. The work will be staged in the mountains of Nihon-Daira, wrapped in the darkness of the night. The audience is guided deep into the forest as cold air rolls in. Surrounded by the jet-black trees, the play quietly begins. Depending on “voices and signs” the piece rises among the audience and depicts the serene abyss between life and death. You become one among the herd of the blind, it is literally “a dramatic experience”.

Revising the French premiered version
JEANNETEAU asks:
What is the “Blind Spot” that lurks in our minds.
JEANNETEAU, also a scenographer, has a strong connection with SPAC, having directed two works, and his talent has been clearly demonstrated. The startling stage conversion that was realized in “Blasted” where an elegant room, in the blink of an eye, transformed to ruins, and in “The Glass Menagerie” where the delicate sway of crystal clear thin cloth depicted folds in characters’ hearts. His “The Blind” premiered in Paris. In the French version, a high concentration of smoke produced a state of zero visibility and the piece gained much attention. In the Shizuoka version, using the natural forest of Nihon-Daira that surrounds Shizuoka Performing Arts Park, we will approach MAETERLINCK’s world as it is in the original as well as explore in depth the psychology of the characters. What will be the fate of the blinds who have been left behind?

Synopsis

An old priest leads twelve blind people from a charity hospital into the forest of an island in a northern province. Some of the blind were born unable to see, some grew old and became unable to see, all have different reasons for why they have lost the ability to see light. Among the luscious ancient trees of the forest, they are waiting patiently for someone. The old priest who led them there is gone. Even when the time comes for them to return home, he does not come. They listen with strained ears to try and learn more about their surroundings, but despite their efforts, they are unable to discover anything. Left in this state of unknowing, their anxiety begins to deepen until, distantly, they hear the sound of someone’s footsteps moving closer…

Staff/Cast

Directed by Daniel JEANNETEAU
Written by Maurice MAETERLINCK
Translated by HIRANO Akihito
Performed by OUCHI Yoneji, KATO Yukio, KIJIMA Tsuyoshi, KONAGAYA Katsuhiko, TERAUCHI Ayako, FUSE Asuka, YOKOYAMA Hisashi / (as extras) OCHIAI Hisanobu, KOBAYASHI Kiyomi, HAMAZAKI Kuniko, MASUI Noriyo, YASOHAMA Kikuko

Technical director: MURAMATSU Atsushi
Stage manager: KAWAKAMI Daijiro
Sound designer: Isabelle SUREL, Sylvain CADARS, Alain MAHE, KATO Hisanao
Sound: AOKI Ryosuke
Video: Mammar BENRANOU
Staging: YOKOTA Takao
Dramaturgy: YOKOYAMA Yoshiji
Production: SAEKI Kazato

Produced by SPAC -Shizuoka Performing Arts Center
Supported by Institut français
Under the auspices of Embassy of France/Institut français du Japon, Embassy of Belgium in Tokyo
　　　
supported by Institut français in the frame of «Théâtre export ».
　　　　
Cooperation: eco-edu

　
Tom LANOYE www.lanoye.be
Born in 1958, living in Antwerp (Belgium) and Cape Town (South Africa). He is a novelist, poet, columnist, scenarist and playwright. He is one of the most widely read and honored authors in his language area (the Netherlands and Flanders), and makes regular appearances at all the major European theatre festivals.

　
MIYAGI Satoshi
Born in Tokyo in 1959. Director. General Artistic Director of SPAC – Shizuoka Performing Arts Center. Studied aesthetics from ODASHIMA Yushi, WATANABE Moriaki and HIDAKA Hachiro at Tokyo University, and founded the new theatre company KU NA’UKA in 1990. Being active in the international industry, his directing, which fuses contemporary textual interpretations with physical techniques and patterns of Asian theatre, receives high acclaims both domestically and abroad. He was appointed as the General Artistic Director of SPAC in April of 2007. Along with presentations of his own works, he invites pieces that sharply cut away at modern society from all over the world. Furthermore, he has started new projects aimed at the youth of Shizuoka, putting efforts into presenting theatre as “a window to the world”. In July 2014, he was invited to Festival d’Avignon and received excellent reviews for his staging of “Mahabharata” at “la carrière de Boulbon”. He is best known for such pieces as “Medea”, “Mahabharata”, “Peer Gynt” etc. In 2004 he received the 3rd Asahi Performing Arts Award. In 2005 he received the 2nd Asahi Beer Art Award.
　

　

　
★SPAC Productions directed by MIYAGI Satoshi

　
SPAC’s New production
Theatre / JAPAN (Shizuoka)
Directed by MIYAGI Satoshi
Written by Tom LANOYE (after Klaus MANN)
Music by TANAKAWA Hiroko
Space design: KIZ Junpei
Translated by NIWAYAMA Yuka
Cooperation for translation: ONISHI Ayaka
Performed by ABE Kazunori, OHTAKA Kouichi, SUZUKI Haruyo, SUZUKI Mari, DAIDOMUMON Yuya, HONDA Maki, Micari, YAMAMOTO Miyuki, YOSHIUE Soichiro, WAKANA Daisuke, WATANABE Takahiko

Information

24 April at 18:30
25 April at 13:00
26 April at 18:00
At Shizuoka Arts Theatre　access
Duration: 180 minutes (expected)
In Japanese with English subtitles

*Each day the pre-performance talk is held 20 minutes before the show.

Ticket

Click for details of ticket price ↑
　
Phone Reservation
SPAC Ticket Center
TEL. +81-(0)54-202-3399 (10:00-18:00)
　

Introduction

What is art, what is a theatre?
MIYAGI Satoshi takes on this challenge.
A vast social criticism work.
The original story was the novel “Mephisto” by Klaus MANN in 1936. The novel was modeled on Germany’s best actor at that time, GRÜNDGENS, who was also the artistic director of the national theatre. This book was eventually banned from the state. In the 1980s the French theatre company, Théâtre du Soleil, brought the novel to the stage and the Hungarian director SZABÓ adapted the novel to film. This social criticism work, through the figure of this genius actor who is at the mercy of his age, questions, “What is theatre? What is art?” The adaptation of the up and coming playwright Tom LANOYE is freer and bolder. As a play within a play, this work is constructed of different scenes from famous dramas. MIYAGI Satoshi, who continues to challenge himself, together with strong actors of SPAC, premieres this social criticism work in Japan!

Masterpieces in drama and famous dialogues…
An intense love for theatre.
A millefeuille of masterpieces?
The grief and despair of Gretchen at the sight of the man who she loves turning in to a “devil”　(“Faust” by GOETHE), the prayer of Hecuba dedicated to the fallen Troy ( “Hecuba” by EURIPIDES) and so on. Famous scenes from masterpieces of all eras unfold. Through each scene that is played out, the sentiment of the characters, tossed about eras, become distinct through the lines of these plays within the play. The monologue of “Richard III” by SHAKESPEARE is reminiscent of the Nazi propaganda minister. His historical speech is strangely layered over Trigorin and Nina’s conversation (“Seagull” by CHEKHOV). This production sees MIYAGI’s direction on new ground. This stage is dedicated to all the people who love theatre.

Synopsis

It’s 1932 and rehearsals of Hamlet are taking place at the National Theatre in Berlin, Germany. Then, news that Nazis have won a landslide victory in the national election and upset the company members. The star actress Rebecca senses the danger and flees to another country. A man appears, who would become Minister of Culture in the new government. He invites the director Kurt, who was also a famed actor for his role in “Mephisto”, to become the new artistic director of the theatre, instead of a leftist activist named Victor. Kurt, by accepting this offer, believes he must protect the theatre, must protect art, however he is gradually swallowed by the waves of the era.

Staff/Cast

Directed by MIYAGI Satoshi
Written by Tom LANOYE (after Klaus MANN)
Music by TANAKAWA Hiroko
Space design: KIZ Junpei
Translated by NIWAYAMA Yuka
Cooperation for translation: ONISHI Ayaka
Performed by ABE Kazunori, OHTAKA Kouichi, SUZUKI Haruyo, SUZUKI Mari, DAIDOMUMON Yuya, HONDA Maki, Micari, YAMAMOTO Miyuki, YOSHIUE Soichiro, WAKANA Daisuke, WATANABE Takahiko

Lighting design: OSAKO Koji
Sound design: KATO Hisanao
Costume design: KOMAI Yumiko

Stage manager: UCHINO Akiko
Assistant director: NAKANO Masaki
Set and prop: FUKASAWA Eri, SATO Yosuke
Lighting operation: MATSUMURA Ayaka
Sound operataion: YAMASAKI Tomomi
Stage: HIROSAKI Nagiko
Wardrobe: SEI Chigusa
Hair and makeup: KAJITA Kyoko
English subtitles: Sarah STARK(Translation), ONISHI Ayaka(Operation)
Production: OISHI Takako, YONEYAMA Junichi

Produced by SPAC – Shizuoka Performing Arts Center
Under the auspices of Embassy of Belgium in Tokyo

▲ Ode to Joy (2018) at Open Air Theatre “UDO”, Shizuoka Performing Arts Park

MIYAGI Satoshi’s Legendary Comedy Stage Is Coming Back!

Originally written by playwright KITAMURA So, Ode to Joy has long been praised as a monumental work in the history of Japanese modern performing arts. The plot takes place in a fictional suburban city in western Japan that has just come out of a nuclear war. While left-over missiles are still flying overhead, a strolling entertainer, Gesaku, a young lady, Kyoko, and a mysterious man, Yasuo, wander together in the city, singing and dancing to chindon music and indulging in comic discourse. This masterpiece, which sold out the seats of Open Air Theatre “UDO” of the Shizuoka Performing Arts Park last spring, is making its comeback at SPAC! What will the three wanderers see at the end of their journey?
　
Directed by MIYAGI Satoshi
Written by KITAMURA So
Set design: KAMIIKE Takuya

Cast

Information

■Schedule
2019

12 October, Saturday	14:00	*Guidance for theatre beginners
		*Post-performance talk
		*Shuttle bus from Eastern Shizuoka
13 October, Sunday	14:00	*Backstage tour
		*Nursery service
19 October, Saturday	14:00	*Backstage tour
		*Nursery service
20 October, Sunday	14:00	*Post-performance talk
26 October, Saturday	14:00	*Backstage tour

In Japanese with English subtitles
Duration: 90 minutes
Venue: Shizuoka Arts Theatre　access

Performances for junior and high-school students

The mark “*” means the performances that have available seats for general audience. (The tickets are limited.)


11 October, Friday at 14:30*
15 October, Tuesday at 13:00*
17 October, Thursday at 13:30
18 October, Friday at 12:00
21 October, Monday at 13:30
23 October, Wednesday at 13:30 / 18:00*
24 October, Thursday at 12:00
25 October, Friday at 13:30

Related events

Pre-Performance Talk: Starting 25 minutes before each performance.
　
Post-performance talk by the artists and guests: after the performance.
12 October, Saturday
◎Talk by KAMIIKE Takuya, MIYAGI Satoshi and OSAWA Masachi (Sociologist from SPAC Literary Department)

20 October, Sunday
◎Talk by MIYAGI Satoshi, all casts and NAKAMURA Yuki (Production Staff)
　
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!
　
Backstage tour
The technical staff will take you on a special backstage tour. You can also ask us your questions about the stage.
13 October, Sunday
19 October, Saturday
26 October, Saturday
Every day, after the show
Time: About 30 minutes
Free of charge. Reservation required. Up to 40 people.
　
Guidance for theatre beginners
SPAC actors 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.
12 October, Saturday at 12:30
Time: About 60 minutes
In Japanese
Free of charge. Reservation required. Up to 20 people.

Shuttle bus to Shizuoka Arts Theatre

＜From Eastern Shizuoka＞
12 October, Saturday
Departure from Shuzenji-station to Shizuoka Arts Theatre

10:10 Shuzenji-station(South exit)
↓
11:05 Mishima-station(North exit)
↓
11:40 Numazu-station(North exit)
↓
13:00 Shizuoka Arts Theatre

*Returning bus will run after Post-performance talk / Backstage tour.
**Reservation is required.

Ticket Price

4,200 yen (One viewing for regular adult)

SPAC Membership Discount
3,500 yen (One viewing for regular adult)

Pair Discount
3,700 yen per person

Group Discount
3,300 yen per person for group of 3 or more

Senior Discount
3,500 yen for seniors over 60
*Please present ID at door

Student Discount
2,000 yen (University)
1,000 yen (High School and under)
*Please present school ID at door

Handicap Discount
2,900 yen (for those who possess handicap passbook)

*Cannot use more than one discount per purchase.
*Please inform use of discount when making reservation.

How to Purchase

Prior Reservation for Membership begins: 27 July at 10:00
Advance Tickets Sale begins: 3 August 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)
　
●Purchase at Seven Eleven
Please use Multi Copy Machine inside stores
　
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 Twitter (@_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］　(up to three children, based on a first come first served basis; reservation required)
SPAC provides a nursery room where you can watch the performance with your infant children.

［Nursery service］　
Please contact us at least one week in advance if you would like to use the free nursery service run by volunteers.
13 October, Sunday
19 October, Saturday
Coverage: Infants aged two and under

Staff

Original lighting design: KITO Ayumi
Costume design: KOMAI Yumiko

Stage manager: FURUYA Kazumi
Assistant director: NAKANO Masaki
Stage: KAMIYA Toshiki, SUGIYAMA Yuri
Sound: HARADA Shinobu, HAYASHI Tetsuya
Lighting: KOBAYAKAWA Hiroya
Assistant Set designer: TAKECHI Kanako
Art work: WATANABE Hiroki
Wardrobe: KAWAI Reiko, SATO Rise
Subtitle translation: MITACHI Riho
Subtitle operation: NAGAI Sayako
Production: YUKIOKA Jun, IRIE Kyohei

Flyer design: ABE Taichi (TAICHI ABE DESIGN INC.)
　
Produced by SPAC-Shizuoka Performing Arts Center
Supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan through the Japan Arts Council
Licence number: So Kitamura 2019 No. 0007 Hirofumi Okano
Premiere: Mini Theater, Aichi Prefectural Art Theater (Co-production by Aichi Prefectural Art Theater & SPAC-Shizuoka Performing Arts Center)
　
　　 　

 

MIYAGI Satoshi

General Artistic Director of Shizuoka Performing Arts Center (SPAC)
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 abroad. 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 Boulbon. 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 recieved “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres” from the Ministry of Culture of France in 2018.
　
KITAMURA So
Now aged 65, KITAMURA So is one of Japan’s leading playwrights, novelists and essayists. Back in the 1980s, however, he drew lots of attention as a leading figure in this country’s so-called “small-scale theatre movement” with his masterpiece Hogiuta (Ode to Joy) that premiered in 1979 and has been performed continuously as a modern classic since then.
In 1984, KITAMURA won the prestigious 28th Kishida Drama Award with his play 11 Nin no Shonen (Eleven Boys), and followed that in 1990 with the Kinokuniya Theatre Awards for Yuki wo Watatte Dai ni ko Tsuki no Akarusa (Pass over snow: The Second Draft; Moonlight). Since 2013 he has written a new series of original plays based on classic works of Japanese literature. The first of these, titled Goodbye and based on the great novelist DAZAI Osamu’s eponymous unfinished novel, won the 17th Tsuruya Nanboku Drama Award in 2014.
Since 1996, meanwhile, as part of his longstanding effort to foster the talents of young writers, KITAMURA has also delivered lectures at Ai Hall, the public theatre in Itami City, Hyogo Prefecture, in a series titled “So’s private lesson in Itami on how to write a play.”