- Theater
A symbiosis with people who have withdrawn from society, this miraculous performance was born from a residency in Japan.
French artists Anne-Sophie Turion and Eric Minh Cuong Castaing have long worked together to question the relationship between the body and community using experimental methods. As the 2020 Villa Kujoyama residents, the pair spent two years in Japan, conducting long-term research and creating work during the pandemic. They have created a performance together with several hikikomori (people who have become recluses and are unable to attend school or work), in collaboration with New Start Kansai association, a non-profit organization supporting such individuals.
In “HIKU,” the hikikomori—people who have experienced severe social withdrawal and are in the process of resocialization—and the community members who interact with them, act as performers, remotely controlling robots from their own bedrooms and appearing on stage through these avatars. The performance space is completely flat, with audience members seated on the ground, and videos of their past and present, activities and emotional landscapes, strangely but smoothly coexisting with these robots as surrogate beings for the performers. Eventually, through a dialogue mediated by a performer who also acts as an interpreter, the performance draws the audience into the center of an intimate world…
The questions raised through these robot avatars—which include loneliness, detachment from reality, methods of resistance, and the fragility of our societies and minds—may perhaps offer us clues for new models of inclusive societies.
＊This project received support through the Villa Kujoyama post-residency program, with the support of the Institut français, the Institut français du Japon, and the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation.
Profile
Anne-Sophie Turion
Author, director and performer Anne-Sophie Turion creates performances for stage as well as public space. From the first person to choral narratives, through the use of objects or the spoken word, she explores the intimate in all its guises. Her projects are shifting biographical forms: we breathe in them and get lost in them, hearing things that can’t be told.
Her company, GRANDEUR NATURE, is based in Marseille and associated with Zef – Scène Nationale de Marseille and La Passerelle – Scène Nationale de Gap.
Éric Minh Cuong Castaing
Choreographer and founder of the Shōnen company, Éric Minh Cuong Castaing combines dance and technologies (robots, drones) in in socius creative processes rooted in societal realities (partnerships with hospitals, NGOs, research labs). He explores the dualities of reality/fiction, nature/culture, and organic/artificial, collaborating with dramaturges, videographers, and choreographers. His works are presented across France and internationally (Centre Pompidou, Comédie de Genève, MODU Theater [South Korea]), supported by the Ministry of Culture and several foundations.
Dates
March 6th [Fri] 17:30
March 7th [Sat] 17:30
March 8th [Sun] 17:30
Performance times
Approx. 70 min.
Venue
Miraikan – The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, 1F Special Exhibition Zone a
2-3-6 Aomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0064
Ticket
Adults | 5,000 yen
Students | 4,000 yen
*Booking essential, non-reserved seat
*Ticket holders for the paid programs of Theater Commons Tokyo ’26 (excluding the Commons Forum) are eligible to attend the “ATC Station” for free.
Please note
*The main entrance won’t be available after 17:00. Please use the Staff Entrance on the Right side of the front of the building.
Language
Japanese, French
Accessibility
Subtitles | None
Audio guide | None
Additional accessibility | Written communication support available at reception
Wheelchair-accessible seating available
Credits
Conception | Anne-Sophie Turion, Eric Minh Cuong Castaing
Performance and live translation | Yuika Hokama
Telepresence performance | Shizuka Fujii, Mastuda Ippei, Tomohiro Yagi
With testimonies from | Thomas Poujade
Participation in the films | Atsutoshi Takahashi, Yoshida Seiji, Tanaka Issei
Collaboration in Japan, mediation, co-organization of the event | Atsutoshi Takahashi and the New Start Kansai association
Dramaturgical support | Marine Relinger, Elise Simonet
Set design | Pia de Compiègne, Anne-Sophie Turion
Outside eye: | Youness Anzane
Drawings | Yoshiyuki Ogawa
Lighting design | Vera Martins
Sound design | Renaud Bajeux
Stage management | David Thomas
Video and sound management | Renaud Vercey
Technical preparation | Virgile Capello
Director of photography in Japan | Victor Zebo
Assistant on second shoot & technical support in Japan | Yuya Morimoto
Camera operator, first shoot | Yuji Suzuki
Translation in Japan | Tadashi Sugihara, Naoko Tanabe, Thomas Poujade
Editing | Lucie Brux
Color grading | Alexis Lambotte — Studio 42
Support | Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels, Embassy of France in Japan / Institut français du Japon, the Villa Kujoyama and the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation
