INFO
Tokyo Festival 2022 Information on 3 major programs (theatre)
Emily Brontë x Shuji Onodera
Outdoor Theatre Performance “Wuthering Heights”
Tsuruya Nanboku x Silviu Purcarete
“The Scarlet Princess”
Silviu Purcarete x Kuranosuke Sasaki
“The Miser”
Tokyo Festival 2022: An international performing arts festival building the future of arts and culture
Tokyo Festival is a comprehensive urban arts festival held every fall around Tokyo’s Ikebukuro area which aims to connect with the world through Tokyo’s rich and diverse arts
and culture scene. While showcasing the appeal of Tokyo’s arts and culture in an easy-to-understand manner, at the same time the festival, which marks its seventh outing this year, aims to enhance Tokyo’s own creative capabilities. In the mid-to-long term, the festival will continue to focus on resolving social issues, developing human resources, developing urban
areas, and addressing globalization, delivering an arts festival that builds the future of arts
and culture through a plentiful program of multi-genre stage productions and art projects centering on Japan's greatest performing arts offerings, as well as a wealth of programs for
developing talent equipped to work internationally in the field of arts.
A main program embodying the three keywords “open,” “master,” “connect”
Under the directorship of Satoshi Miyagi, a stage director highly acclaimed overseas for work including his opera production at this year’s Festival d'Aix-en-Provence music
festival in France, Tokyo Festival’s philosophy is represented by the three keywords “open,” “master,” “connect,” embodied in this year’s three principal theatrical offerings.
The first of these is the single-coin admission Outdoor Performance program, which began in 2018 as an attempt to “open” the performing arts to more people. This year’s offering will be a new outdoor performance of “Wuthering Heights,” directed by Shuji Onodera, a rare performer whose work spans theatre, dance, and TV dramas.Together with his trusted one-of-a-kind collaborator, actor Hairi Katagiri, Onodera takes on the challenge of Emily Brontë's romantic masterpiece.
Next we introduce an assemblage of works and artists of whom it is no exaggeration to say
have “mastered” in the pursuit of their own unique expression in order to reach the pinnacle of the performing arts world. Notable among these are two works being staged at Tokyo
Metropolitan Theatre under the direction of Romanian genius, Silviu Purcarete. Boasting its Japan premiere is the first of these works, “The Scarlet Princess,” a work based on Nanboku Tsuruya IV's drama "Sakura Hime Azuma Bunsho,” a production which astonished audiences at the Sibiu International Theatre Festival. Our second offering is Molière’s masterpiece of comedy, “The Miser” featuring Japan’s Kuranosuke Sasaki, an accomplished actor teaming up with Purcarete again for the first time since “Richard III.”
Tokyo Festival is a borderless event that creates the opportunity to encounter an array of cultural offerings and which “connects” Japan and overseas, multidisciplinary activities and different forms of expression; it is an arts festival that enables audiences and visitors to discover a new Tokyo and connect with the world.
The full lineup for Tokyo Festival 2022 is slated to be released on August 1, 2022.
Tokyo Festival 2022 Directly managed program Outdoor Theatre Performance “Wuthering Heights”
By Emily Brontë, Directed by Shuji Onodera
Cast: Takashi Oshita, Kae Kubo, Yu Saito, Rina Sakiyama, Kotone Suginami, Ren Takeuchi, Musashi Tanno, Ami Chong, Aki Tsujita, Koichiro Tomioka, Sayaka
Nakamura, Toma Nishiyama, Mutsumi Hanawa, Kyoko Miyashita,
Hairi Katagiri
Performance schedule: 5.00pm, October 17 (Mon.) – October 26 (Wed.), 2022 GLOBAL RING THEATRE (Ikebukuro Nishi-guchi Park Outdoor Theatre)
A wind bearing hatred and revenge “wuthering” over the desolate moors makes landfall at Ikebukuro Nishi-guchi in fall 2022
Tokyo Festival Main Program “Outdoor Theatre Performance”
In 2018 outdoor theatre performances became a major feature of the Tokyo Festival Program in a bid to make theatre more “open.” The venue for performances is Global Ring Theatre in Ikebukuro Nishi-guchi Park close to Ikebukuro Station, and tickets carry a “one coin” admission fee of 500 yen. Under the theme “extraordinary spectacles that appear in everyday life,” this program simultaneously creates opportunities for people who have never been to theatre to have contact with stage performance for the first time, and livens up the neighborhood. Dropping by and being able to experience high-quality performances by top artists is a pleasure that only art festivals
can provide. Additionally, in order to “open” the chance of appearing onstage to a wider range of artists, many performers are selected through audition.
Shuji Onodera takes on the challenge of a new outdoor production of “Wuthering Heights”
For the Tokyo Festival 2022 Outdoor Theatre Performance, we welcome Shuji Onodera, the director and choreographer who heads up Company Derashinera, taking on a new production of “Wuthering Heights.” Onodera makes full use of the outdoor medium to create a large-scale spectacle in his daring reconstruction of the literary classic “Wuthering Heights” by English writer Emily Brontë.
The synergy between direction maximizing words, light, sound and space with Onodera’s original world view incorporating mime-based physical expression has the effect of rebooting this story - published in England in 1847 - for the modern age.
This is urban outdoor theatre in the middle of the city, where the passage of evening into night and its attendant hustle and bustle become part of the play. We hope you enjoy the different dimension this brings.
Profile
Shuji Onodera
Director, Leader of Company Derashinera. Studied at the Japan Mime Studio. From 1995 to 2006 he was a key member of the mime-based troupe Mizuto Abura. Afterwards he went to France to study under the Program of Overseas Study for Upcoming Artists offered by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, launching Company Derashinera upon his return to Japan. He has attracted attention for his distinctive directing based on mime movement. Onodera’s major directorial works include the Contemporary Noh Theatre Series IX “Taketori” (2018, Theatre Tram, other venues);
the international coproduction “TOGE” (2021, Kanagawa Arts Theatre); and “Alice in Wonderland” (2017 /2022, New National Theatre, Tokyo, other venues). He actively engages in performance projects outside the theatre, such as outdoor performances and school tours. He also choregraphs for musicals and plays, and won the 18th Yomiuri Theatre Award Outstanding Staff Award. He was appointed Japan Cultural Envoy by The Agency for Cultural Affairs in 2015. He also handled choreography for Tokugawa Ieyasu played by Kinya Kitaoji in the 2021 NHK historical drama television series “Reach Beyond the Blue Sky” (Seiten o Tsuke).
Hairi Katagiri
Actor, born in Tokyo in 1963. While at university she made her stage debut as part of a theatre
troupe while working part time as a ticket collector in a movie theatre. She has subsequently worked on a wide variety of project including commercials, movies and television drama. Principal stage and screen apperances include “Miren no yurei to kaibutsu – zaha to tsuruga” (“Unfulfilled Ghost and Monster – “Zaha” and" “Tsuruga””) (2021, written and directed by Toshiki Okada); "The Large Crow (Glass), Even" or "Duchamp's Glass"(2016, written by Juichiro Takeuchi/directed by Shuji Onodera); “Kirei 〜 The Woman Who Met Up With God”(2005, direction and script by Matsuo Suzuki); “Oil” (2003, direction and script by Hideki Noda); “Oh Brother, Oh Sister!” stage and
screen versions (2013, 2014); the movie “Hold Me Back” (2020); the movie “Kamome Diner (2006); the TV drama “Chimu-Dondon” (2022); the TV drama “Ama Chan” (2013); the TV drama “Suika” (2003) and many more. She also writes, and has authored the books “Watashi no Matoka” and
“Guatemala no Ototo” (Gentosha). Her book of essays demonstrating her love of cinema “Mogiri
yo konya mo arigatou” (Kinema Junpo) won her the 82nd Kinema Junpo Best Ten Reader Award.
Performance outline
-Schedule: 5.00pm, October 17 (Mon.) – October 26 (Wed.), 2022(no performance on Monday, October 24)
-Place: GLOBAL RING THEATRE (Ikebukuro Nishi-guchi Park Outdoor Theatre) 1-8-26 Nishiikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 171 - 0021
-Tickets on sale Sep. 10 (Sat.) from 10:00am
-Tickets (Unreserved seating, tax inclusive) ¥500, others
Tokyo Festival 2022 Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre Autumn Selection “The Scarlet Princess”
Adapted/directed by Silviu Purcarete
Original work: Nanboku Tsuruya IV "Sakura Hime Azuma Bunsho”
Cast: Ofelia Popii and Iustinian Turcu
Romania’s Radu Stanca National Theatre
Performance schedule: October 8 (Sat.) – October 11 (Tues.), 2022
Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre Playhouse
In 2022, the curtain rises on a new production linking Tokyo and Romania The Kabuki masterpiece revival created in Sibiu finally arrives in Japan!
An encounter between the genius Purcarete and Nanboku Tsuruya IV which transcends time and space
“The Scarlet Letter,” which had its world premiere at the Sibiu International Theatre Festival and caused a sensation in Europe, was based on Nanboku Tsuruya IV’s "Sakura Hime Azuma Bunsho.”
The result is a completely new theatrical work in the "honkadori" tradition (a poetic allusion to an older work), a challenge taken up by European theatre that has stayed faithful to the essence of Kabuki. The bold and challenging theatrical spectacular characteristic of Purcarete closely resembles the Japanese "kabuku" spirit(denoting something out of the ordinary), said to be the origin of the word Kabuki. At the same time, Purcarete’s deep reading of the text, and his detailed approach to the work based on rich knowledge of and respect for Japanese culture make this a unique work that stirs the soul of the viewer.
Sibiu International Theatre Festival, and the partnership between Purcarete and Japan
Since the beginning of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, the event has built a close relationship with Japan. In 2008, the late Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII led the Heisei Nakamuraza Kabuki troupe’s Kabuki performances there; Kazuyoshi Kushida, who is also Arstistic Director of Matsumoto Performing Arts Centre, subsequently presented a work at the festival; and Hideki Noda, Artistic Director of Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, staged “One Green Bottle” there.
Purcarete has attracted a great deal of attention with his modern interpretations of classics, including the Radu Stanca National Theatre’s production of “Faust,” and his productions of “Richard III” in 2017 (starring Kuranosuke Sasaki), and “A Midsummer Night's Dream,”
both staged at Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre. He made a great impression on Japanese theatre fans when he was invited to Japan to stage “Lulu” in 2013, followed by “Gulliver’s Travels” and “Oidip.”
And now in 2022, after overcoming the cancellation of performances due to the pandemic, Purcarete will realize the first Japanese performances of “The Scarlet Letter,”
a classic into which he has breathed new life. This completely new work created overseas is sure to give Japanese people a unique opportunity to rediscover a hidden side of Kabuki, and promote the energy and potential of Japanese theatre both at home and abroad.
Profile
Silviu Purcarete
Romania’s leading stage director, born in 1950. At Romania’s Sibiu International Theatre Festival, one of Europe’s big three theatre festivals, Purcarete’s large-scale, spectacular version of “Faust” draws attention as the annual highlight of the event. He has been invited to numerous festivals around the world including Edinburgh, Avignon, Melbourne, and Montreal. In France Purcarete has been decorated as Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government, and in Romania he has been awarded the Order of the Star of Romania. His theatre awards include the Critic’s Prize at the Edinburgh Festival, the Peter Brook prize, and the Dublin Festival Critics Award. He created the two works “Richard III” (2017)and “A Midsummer Night’s
Dream” (2020) for Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre.
About Radu Stanca National Theatre
The Radu Stanca National Theatre is a long-established theatre built in 1788. Since Constantin Chiriac was appointed Artistic Director in 2000, the theatre has received much
acclaim, becaming Romania’s national theatre in 2004. Around 50 actors are affiliated with the prolific theatre, which stages around 70 works ranging from classics to experimental works during the season, as well as more than 10 new works on an annual basis.
In addition, since 1994 it has been the co-organizer of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival. Artists from 70 countries around the world take part in the festival, which ranks alongside the Edinburgh and Avignon festivals in terms of scale. Since the festival’s early days, many theatre companies from Japan have also taken part in the festival: to date, the late Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII, Kazuyoshi Kushida, Hideki Noda and other theatre greats from Japan have been awarded stars on the "Sibiu Walk of Fame," presented by festival organizers in honor of achievements in the world of theatre.
Performance outline
-Schedule: October 8 (Sat.) – October 11 (Tues.), 2022
(no performance on Monday, October 10)
-Place: Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre Playhouse 1-8-1 Nishiikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 171-0021 Tickets on sale Sep. 10(Sat) from 10:00am
-Tickets: Prices being finalized No admittance to preschool children
*Performance in Romanian, with Japanese/English subtitles
Tokyo Festival 2022 Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre Autumn Selection “The Miser”
Written by Molière/Translated by Nobuko Akiyama
Directed by Silviu Purcarete
Cast: Kuranosuke Sasaki, others
Performance schedule: November 23 (Wed.) – December 11 (Sun.), 2022
Venue:Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre Playhouse
Director Purcarete, the “Ninagawa of Romania,” returns to TMT Molière's masterpiece offers blistering ridicule of a corrupt and money-crazy society
The great Purcarete and Kuranosuke Sasaki take on Molière's masterpiece of comedy
Kuranosuke Sasaki is a renowned Japanese actor known for his good looks and energetic performances. Silviu Purcarete, the giant of Romanian theatre, is the theatre director that has captivated Sasaki. This fall, the two pair up again for the first time since the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre production of “Richard III” five years ago in 2017.
Purcarete has already made his name in Japan with the works he has staged here, receiving the Yomiuri Theatre Award amongst other accolades.
Purcarete’s featured production for 2022 is “The Miser” by Molière, one of France’s three greatest playwrights who was born 400 years ago this year. This superior comedy of manners is particularly popular among Molière’s numerous works, and has been staged multiple times.
Sasaki’s spirited and unbridled performance as an old miser reluctant to part with his cash and Purcarete’s slapstick-style direction provide a welcome release of laughter after the pandemic.
Purcarete’s works enchant theatre and festival audiences the world over. This year’ s festival gives audiences a unique opportunity to revel in the world of Purcarete through the consecutive offerings of a guest production of “The Scarlet Letter” followed by his staging of “The Miser.”
“The Miser” plot summary
The extremely frugal Harpagon (Kuranosuke Sasaki) forces his servant and even his son and daughter to be as pennypinching as him, and his family's patience has reached its limit. One day Harpagon announces his intention to remarry, but his intended is in fact the girl his own son is in love with. A secret is unexpectedly revealed in the midst of the romantic vicissitudes that envelop the miserly father, his son and daughter, and their sweethearts.
Profile
Silviu Purcarete
Romania’s leading stage director, born in 1950. At Romania’s Sibiu International Theatre Festival, one of Europe’s big three theatre festivals, Purcarete’s large-scale, spectacular version of “Faust” draws attention as the annual highlight of the event. He has been invited to numerous festivals around the world including Edinburgh, Avignon, Melbourne, and Montreal. In France Purcarete has been decorated as Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government, and in Romania he has been awarded the Order of the Star of Romania. His theatre awards include the Critic’s Prize at the Edinburgh Festival, the Peter Brook prize, and the Dublin Festival Critics Award. He created the two works “Richard III” (2017)and “A Midsummer Night’s
Dream” (2020) for Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre.
Kuranosuke Sasaki
Born in Kyoto on February 4, 1968.
Sasaki was part of the theatre company "Planet Pistachio" from its inception, and remained the box-office draw of that theatre company until he left in 1998. He subsequently moved to Tokyo and began his acting career in earnest, appearing in numerous television programs, movies and theatre productions, and also making his Kabuki debut in 2014. He has received the 17th Yomiuri Theatre Award excellent actor award, 47th Kinokuniya Theatre Award in the Individual category, the 40th Kazuo Kikuta Theatre Award theatre prize, and the Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role award in the 38th Japan Academy Prize. Works Sasaki has appeared in recently include theatre roles in “Macbeth” (2015), “GeGeGe no Sensei e” (2018), Team Saru’s “Kunshi ni tomonashi: the Yongzheng Emperor, loneliest “tyrant” in Chinese history” (2021), and “The Lion in Winter” (2022); movie roles in “We Make Antiques!
Kyoto Rendezvous” (2020), “Live Shimada Akira: The Last Governor of Okinawa during the War” (2021), and “The Woman of S.R.I.: The Movie” (2021); and television drama roles in
“Miyako ga Kyoto ni Yattekita!” (ABC, 2021), “Cyber Crimes Unit” (EX 2021), and “The Men
Of The Wada Family” (EX 2021). The movie “The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai” (2022) is currently showing in movie theatres, and “We Make Antiques! 3” is in the offing for a 2023
release.
Performance outline
-Schedule: November 23 (Wed.) – December 11 (Sun.), 2022
(no performances on some days)
-Place: Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre Playhouse 1-8-1 Nishiikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 171-0021
-Tickets on sale Sep. 10(Sat) from 10:00am
-Tickets: Prices being finalized
Press release
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