Kazuo Ishiguro’s masterpiece The Remains of the Day comes to the stage as a live reading. In this first-person narrative set in 1930s England, the protagonist, who served the aristocracy, describes his memories and regrets about the past, his hopes for the future, his anxieties, and his fears. People he met over the course of his life flash before our eyes and disappear. Then, just as he takes another step forward, he murmurs, “The evening’s the best part of the day.” This message, which could just as easily apply to the span of our lives, strikes a chord that resonates intensely in our hearts.

Hidekazu Mashima, Yuhi Ozora/Hijiri Kojima (double cast), Nozomi Makino, Yamato Katsura/LaSalle Ishii (double cast)

[Original author] Kazuo Ishiguro (published by Hayakawa Publishing)
[Translator] Masao Tsuchiya
[Director/stage adaptation writer] Yu Murai

Set designer: Natsuko Takebe
Lighting designer: Kohsuke Sugimoto
Sound designer: Mariko Shimizu
Costume designer: Kazunori Kusaka
Stage manager: Kenichi Konno
Publicity design: Takahashi Design Room
Illustrator: Yosuke Yamaguchi
Producers: Harumi Nemoto, Junko Baba

[Original author] Kazuo Ishiguro
Born in Nagasaki, November 8, 1954. Moved to the UK with his family in 1960. He was subsequently brought up in a bicultural Japanese and British environment. Ishiguro studied English literature at the University of Kent and then gained a master’s degree in creative writing at the University of East Anglia. His 1982 debut, A Pale View of Hills, won a prize awarded by the British Royal Society of Literature, while his 1986 novel, An Artist of the Floating World, was named the Whitbread Book of the Year. Ishiguro won the Booker Prize in 1989 for his third novel, The Remains of the Day. His subsequent books include The Unconsoled (1995), When We Were Orphans (2000), Never Let Me Go (2005), the short story collection Nocturnes (2009), and 2015’s The Buried Giant (all published in Japan by Hayakawa Publishing). In 2017, Ishiguro was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his achievements over many years.

[Stage Adaptation Writer/Director] Yu Murai
Playwright and director [Founder of KPR/Kaimaku Pennant Race]
After working for Meguro City, Murai launched the theatre company Kaimaku Pennant Race (now known as KPR/Kaimaku Pennant Race) in 2006. Since then, he has been responsible for the composition, writing, and direction of all the company’s productions. He has staged many performances in other countries, winning high acclaim from The New York Times and various other overseas media.
In May 2019, he was officially invited by the Japan Society (New York) to stage a production that went on to win five-star reviews. Aside from his work with his own theatre company, he directs performances for many other companies and is developing “2.5 dimensional plays.”

Style of performance: Regular performance

Schedule: Wednesday,September 30,2020 – Sunday.October 4,2020

◆=Yuhi Ozora × LaSalle Ishii ◇=Hijiri Kojima × Yamato Katsura

Doors open: Foyer opens 45 minutes before the performance, auditorium opens 30 minutes before

Ticket fee

Adults:4,500 yen
Under-24s:2,250 yen*1
Discount for Toshima citizens:4,000 yen*2
Discount for people with disabilities:3,500 yen*3
*Please refrain from bringing preschool children to performances
*1 Student identification card or other proof of age must be shown at entry
*2 The discount for Toshima citizens (those who live, work, or attend school in Toshima City) is available only for advance sales / Up to 4 tickets per member (the adults price applies from the fifth ticket) / Identification must be shown
*3 The discount for people with disabilities is also applicable to 1 caregiver / Disability certificate must be shown

On general sale: Sunday, August 23
Presale for Toshima citizens: Saturday, August 8

Ticket booth: Toshima Ticket Center

Organizer: Toshima Mirai Cultural Foundation/Toshima City

Project cooperation: Hayakawa Publishing Co-organizer: Ishii Mitsuzo Office

Owlspot Theatre 03-5391-0751