My translation of the play YAMAYAMA (I Would Prefer Not To), written by Matsubara Shuntaro in 2018, appears in Volume 8 of the ENGEKI: Japanese Theatre In the New Millennium series, published by the Japan Playwrights Association (JPA). The ENGEKI series (“engeki” means theatre in Japanese) brings new writing in Japan to an international audience….
Tag: Contemporary Japanese Theatre
On Kyoto Experiment 2022
This article was originally published in the Japan Times on September 29 2022. The Japanese government’s plan to ease visa restrictions for independent tourists and abolish the daily arrival cap by early October as well as the prospect of a nationwide travel discount program in the autumn are all welcome news for the country’s pandemic-stricken tourist hubs….
Translation of “Biome”
In May 2022, Mika Eglinton and I translated the play Biome for a production by the Umeda Arts Theatre (Osaka) staged at the Toshima Arts and Culture Theater in Tokyo from the 8th to the 12th of June 2022. The play was written by playwright and director Ueda Kumiko and it was directed by Takashi Isshiki. The…
On Theater Commons Tokyo 2022 – “Unsynchronized Voices”
How can contemporary theater affirm its raison d’etre at a time when going to see it live is viewed by many as an “unessential” activity? Theater Commons Tokyo tackles this issue head on with its program titled “Unsynchronized Voices.”
Kyoto Experiment Autumn 2021
This article was originally published in the Japan Times newspaper on October 2 2021. In these pandemic times, the digital tools that connect people in the absence of travel have, by necessity, led to our voices taking precedence over our bodies. Fewer domains have felt the effects of this disembodiment more acutely than the performing arts. In…
Premonitions from the Past / Hauntings from the Future / Performance Experiments in Kyoto
Paper given online at the International Federation for Theatre Research Conference, Galway, July 16 2021. Abstract Kyoto’s annual international performing arts festival, Kyoto Experiment (KEX), marked its tenth anniversary in October 2019 and with it the end of a decade-long run for festival founder and director Yusuke Hashimoto. The 2020 edition of the festival, led…
Kyoto Experiment Spring 2021
The Kyoto Experiment (KEX) performing arts festival is marking the beginning of a new era. Not only does it have three new program directors at the helm, it also has a fresh logo and renewed focus on experimentation to boot.
Book chapter in 漂流の演劇 – 維新派のパースペクティブ [Lit. Theatre Adrift: The Ishinha Perspective] Osaka UP
A chapter I wrote on a site-specific production by the erstwhile Osaka-based theatre company Ishinha was published in a new book looking at the company’s work and legacy.
Profile on Multimedia Artist Hiroko Tanahashi
This article explores key elements of Hiroko Tanahashi’s life and career as a multimedia artist who creates immersive worlds for Post Theater in Berlin and Stuttgart.
On Theatre E9, a new black box venue in Kyoto
Theatre E9 Kyoto was launched in June 2019 and has quickly gained a reputation for producing challenging performance work. What’s at stake in creating a new black box theatre in 2019-2020? How does it tie into the wider regional and national theatre scene?
Andrew Eglinton 