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.”
Tag: Theatre Festivals
Kyoto Experiment Marks the End of an Era
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?
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…
Kyoto Experiment Autumn 2016
This article was originally published in the Japan Times Newspaper on October 25 2016. “Good fences make good neighbors” is an often-quoted line from Robert Frost’s poem “Mending Wall” about two farmers united in their effort to rebuild a wall that divides their land. Less well known is the poem’s central query: “Why do good fences make…
On the Asian Shakespeare Association's first Conference and the new Owl Spot Shakespeare Festival (Tokyo)
This article was originally published in the Japan Times newspaper on Nov 19 2014. Whatever would William Shakespeare make of it all if he were to journey now through Asia, where the interpretations of his works differ so much across vast regions, ethnic groups, cultures and languages? Since the 1990s, in the field of Shakespeare…
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…
French theatre at the core of SPAC's 2014 festival
This article was originally published in the Japan Times newspaper on April 23 2014. It is often said that “variety is the spice of life,” but in the multifarious world of theater it is more a staple than a special condiment. That said, “variety” is the keyword chosen by Satoshi Miyagi, artistic director of the…
Tokyo Performing Arts Market 2014
This article was originally published in the Japan Times newspaper on Feb 5 2014. As befits its designation as a “Cultural City of East Asia 2014,” Yokohama is about to host Japan’s foremost annual platform for contemporary performing arts. Launched in 1995 as the Tokyo Performing Arts Market, the weeklong event moved to its present…
Andrew Eglinton 