The 10th edition of Kyoto Experiment marked the end of a decade-long labor of love for Yusuke Hashimoto, who stepped down as program director and passed the baton on to three new co-directors. What impact has this performing arts event had at home and abroad? What are some of the milestones in its story so far?
Tag: Contemporary Japanese Theatre
On the Theatre Olympics 2019 at Toga Village, Toyama
This article was originally published in the Japan Times newspaper on August 14 2019. Since the late 1970s, people from all over the world have traveled to the village of Toga in rural Toyama Prefecture to attend Tadashi Suzuki’s renowned acting classes or to see the Suzuki Company of Toga (SCOT) and other invited artists…
On the Performing Arts Program at the Aichi Triennale 2019
This article was originally published in The Japan Times newspaper on July 30 2019. The political function of art is a perennial question in the field of aesthetics. In classical Athens, Plato argued that art as a form of imitation was limited in its ability to communicate knowledge about political life. In contrast, Aristotle saw…
Tokyo Theater Commons and Tokyo Performing Arts Meeting
This article was originally published in the Japan Times Newspaper on January 24, 2017. A bonanza is brewing in Tokyo and Yokohama for lovers of cross-cultural contemporary theater. That’s because, from Jan. 25 to Feb. 5, the capital’s Minato Ward hosts a new performance and workshop program named Theater Commons Tokyo. Meanwhile Yokohama’s Naka Ward…
"Landslide World" – Shiki Goroshi's stage adaptation of "Lord of the Flies"
This article was originally published in the Japan Times newspaper on January 7 2015. Central to William Golding’s dystopian novel “Lord of the Flies” is the notion of violence as a social construct. “Maybe there is a beast … maybe it’s only us,” says the protective Simon before a hostile assembly of other schoolboys marooned…
Kansai region in midst of arts renaissance
This article was originally published in the Japan Times newspaper on Jan 1 2015. In its 2013 policy report, the Agency for Cultural Affairs vowed to build “a nation based on culture and the arts” through the promotion of regional festivals, artist-in-residence programs and other events. So what can we expect the Kansai region’s contribution…
On the New National Theatre Tokyo's staging of Nick Payne's "Constellations"
This article was originally published in the Japan Times newspaper on Nov 26 2014. As the third play in its series titled Drama for Two — The Power of Dialogue, the New National Theatre, Tokyo, is set to stage acclaimed English playwright Nick Payne’s two-hander quantum love story “Constellations” for a three-week run from Dec….
Kyoto Experiment #5
This article was originally published in the Japan Times newspaper on Sept 24 2014. Kyoto Experiment, the city’s monthlong international performing-arts festival that debuted in 2010 and has been growing in popularity in the vanguard of contemporary performance every year since, is now set to embark on its fifth and most radical edition. The ongoing…
Nomura Mansai's "Suitcase Macbeth"
This article was originally published in the Japan Times newspaper on July 16 2014. Cultures collide on the small square stage of Mansai Nomura’s pared-down “Macbeth,” in which the actor/director draws on the restrained aesthetics of noh and the agility and wit of kyōgen traditional comic theater as he transplants his version of Shakespeare’s blood-soaked Scottish play to medieval…
On the launch of the Kinosaki International Arts Center
This article was originally published in the Japan Times newspaper on June 4 2014. JUN 4, 2014ARTICLE HISTORY PRINT SHARE The small hot-spring resort of Kinosaki beside the Sea of Japan in northern Hyogo Prefecture is as picturesque as it is peacefully genteel. However, with April’s opening of the Kinosaki International Arts Center (KIAC), this…
Andrew Eglinton 