- Theater
Satoko Ichihara unleashes a new, “universal scale” work.
Satoko Ichihara, a theater maker and director, fearlessly yet sensitively questions invisible societal taboos and contradictions around sex. In this work, she takes the absurd and comedic nature of patriarchy and capitalism, the distortions that arise from mass production and consumerism, and the global homogenization of desire, and sublimates them into poignant “Q’s” (questions) to confront the audience. Livestock industries where reproduction is managed to produce food, sexual contexts as sites of unwitting manipulation, and poor working conditions caused by commercialization… As the meaning behind the word “kawaii” changes in chameleonic ways, will we finally reach a utopia?
Brimming with an earnest yet critical humor and performed by actors from Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong, this play will irreversibly shock those living through modern times.
Profile
Satoko Ichihara
Playwright, director, novelist and Artistic Director of Kinosaki International Arts Center (KIAC). Satoko Ichihara has led the theater company Q since 2011. She writes and directs plays that deal with human behavior, the physiology of the body, and the unease surrounding these themes, using her unique sense of language and physical sensitivity. In 2019, “The Bacchae−Holstein Milk Cows” based on a Greek tragedy, premiered at Aichi Triennale 2019 and won the 64th Kishida Kunio Playwriting Prize. In 2021, she co-produced “Madama Butterfly” with the Theater Neumarkt (Zurich), which was presented at Zurcher Theater Spektakel , SPIELART Theatre Festival (Munich) and Wiener Festwochen. In 2023, “Yoroboshi: The Weakling” premiered at Theater der Welt 2023 (Frankfurt). After a national tour, it was performed at the Festival d’Automne à Paris and elsewhere in 2024.
Dates
March 1st [Sat] 14:00 / 19:00
March 2nd [Sun] 11:30 / 16:30
Performance times
Approx. 100 min.
Venue
Spiral Hall
3F Spiral, 5-6-23 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0062
Ticket
Adults | 5,500 yen
Students | 4,000 yen
*Booking essential, non-reserved seat
Please note
*Recommended minimum age: 16 years. Children under the age of 12 not admitted.
*This work contains depictions of sexual and physical violence.
Language
Performance | Japanese, Korean, Cantonese *Three languages are mixed.
Subtitle | English, Japanese
Accessibility
Subtitles | Japanese and English
Audio guide | None
Additional accessibility |
Written communication support available at reception
Wheelchair-accessible seating available
Credit
Text and direction | Satoko Ichihara
Cast | Sung Soo-yeon (Creative VaQi), Yurie Nagayama (Seinendan), Birdy Wong Ching-yan (Artocrite Theater), Yuka Hanamoto (Yuka Hanamoto × Moe Matsuki)
Music/Sound design｜Masamitsu Araki
Costume | Shie Minamino (Osushi)
Scenography | Tomomi Nakamura
Lighting | Rie Uomori (kehaiworks)
Video | Kotaro Konishi
Sound | Masashi Dohi*, Yosuke Goda*
Stage management｜Takeshi Kawamura*
Special modeling fabrication | Babot inc
Direction department | Tomoki Kawamura, Hino Korogi, Sarara Takagi
Dramaturge | Takaaki Kumakura
English translation and surtitles | Aya Ogawa
With the cooperation of audio equipment | YAMAHA SOUND SYSTEMS INC. / Yamaha Music Japan Co., Ltd.
Production management | Shunsuke Manabe, Rika Kihara*, Mizuki Kakita*
Promotional design | Eiko Sasaki
Produced by ROHM Theatre Kyoto
*ROHM Theatre Kyoto
ROHM Theatre Kyoto Repertory Works
Venue support | Wacoal Art Center
Related program
Commons Forum #3 “Theater and East-Asia”
Date | March 2nd [Sun] 14:00-15:30
Commons Tour (Tour B)
Dates | March 1st [Sat], 2nd [Sun]
“KITTY” at Kyoto
February 17th [Mon]–24 [Mon], 2025
ROHM Theatre Kyoto North Hall
https://rohmtheatrekyoto.jp/en/event/123876/