A young man called Kazuo visits a shoe factory that is on the brink of going out of business. The boss’s daughter Hanako, finding out that Kazuo is a gifted long-distance runner, tries to market the company’s products by getting him to wear and use sneakers made by her father’s company. Kazuo performs unexpectedly well in his debut marathon and is set to take part in the competition to decide athletes for the Olympics. However, things don’t go according to plan…
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the death of playwright Koharu Kisaragi. Her work “NIPPON CHA! CHA! CHA!” is being revived for the stage as a new work with new direction by
Makoto Nakashima, artistic director of Bird Theatre Company TOTTORI, music by Daisuke Fuwa the leader of Shibusashirazu, and stage design by Atelier Bow-Wow.

Yuki Hori (from DULL-COLORED POP), Yukari Saito and Eriko (from Troupe HOTCHKISS), Gaku Suganuma, Sota Kimura, Sakura Shimamura, Tomoki Kawanabe, Yasuyuki Miyashita, Mako Mitsuhashi, Kyoka Koguchi, Moto Shimoji, Chisato Chikanaga, Emi Sekimori, Yoriaki Saito (from BIRD Theatre Company)

Written by: Koharu Kisaragi
Script/direction: Makoto Nakashima (BIRD Theatre Company)

Music: Daisuke Fuwa (Shibusashirazu)
Stage Design: Atelier Bow-Wow
Sound: Nobuhiro Hara (oharakikaku)
Lighting: Koji Osako
Theme song composed : Atsuhiko Takenaka(BIRD Theatre Company)
Costume: KiRi（tathagata）
Hair and Makeup:Maya Yasuda (BIRD Theatre Company)
Stage manager: Kenichiro Iwasaki (Nike Stage Works)
Director’s assistant: Hiroo Nakai (Stage Work URAK)
Technical managers: Seiichi Yagi, Yasunori Goto (Nike Stage Works)
Publicity art: Riki Andoh
Produced by: Daisuke Kitagawa, Sho Onaka / Tamami Kanda (BIRD Theatre Company)

Profile: Koharu Kisaragi (playwright)
Playwright and director born in Tokyo in 1956. As leader of theater group NOISE she created many experimental stage pieces that broke away from conventional theater with live music performances, collaborative works incorporating video, etc. She came to prominence in the 1980s as a standard-bearer for small independent theater alongside figures like Hideki Noda and Eriko (now Eri) Watanabe. Major works include ”Romeo to furiijia no aru shokutaku” (Dining Table with Romeo and Freesias”), “Ie, yo no hate no…”(“House at the End of this World”), “MORAL,” “MOON” and “Yoru no gakkou” (“Night School”). In addition to her work as a creative artist, she also worked towards environmental improvement, and held positions such as Executive Committee Chairperson for the Conference for Asian Women and Theater, committee member of the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO, theater activities committee member at Hyogo Children’s Museum, and lecturer at Rikkyo University. She died in December 2000, aged 44.

Profile: Makoto Nakashima (director)
Stage director and Artistic Director of Bird Theatre Company. Born in 1966, he became involved in theater while still at university. Nakashima was affiliated with the Shizuoka Performing Arts Center from 2004 for one and a half years. He started Bird Theatre Company in 2006, transforming abandoned schools in Tottori into theaters. He aims to show society the real potential of theater, a cultural apparatus with more than 2000 years of history, and to gain wide recognition of the profound value of theater as both performance and venue. Directorial works include “The Visit” (Friedrich Dürrenmatt), “Forging the Swords” (Lu Xun), “The Threepenny Opera” (Bertolt Brecht), and “The Lady Aoi” (Yukio Mishima). He received the Best Director Award at the 2003 Toga Stage Director Contest and in 2010 he was awarded the Newcomer Award in the Art Award of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. He serves as Japanese committee representative for the BeSeTo Theater Festival.

Style of performance: Regular performance

Schedule: Sunday,October 18,2020 – Sunday,October 25,2020

Performance at 17:30 every day
*Public dress rehearsal on Saturday 17/No performance on Monday 19

Ticket fee: ¥500

Tickets on sale: 10:00, Saturday, September 26

How to Book: Peatix

Organizers: Tokyo Festival Executive Committee[Toshima City, Toshima Mirai Cultural Foundation, Festival/Tokyo Executive Committee, Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture(Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre & Arts Council Tokyo)]

03−6903−3652(Weekdays 10:00-15:00)
tf2020.outdoor@gmail.com