New National Announces Works for 2010-2011; Incl. 'Our Town', 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'

The New National Theatre in Tokyo has announced its upcoming works for the 2010-2011 season.

Hedda Gabler
September - October, 2010

Hedda Gabler is a play that new Artistic Director Miyata Keiko has had on both the front and back burner for years. It will be the opening production of her first season as Artistic Director. Miyata is working on a new translation from the original Norwegian of what is considered by many to be the most modern of Ibsen?fs plays.

By coincidence, the complete works (definitive editions) of Ibsen were published in Norway in December 2009. The definitive edition is being studied in the process of developing the script for our fall production, and our hope is to present the play afresh as a modern Hedda Gabler.

Hedda Gabler was published in December 1890 (released simultaneously in Scandinavia, France, Great Britain, America, Russia and the Netherlands), and was first performed at Munich?fs Residenztheater in January the following year. Then in February it premiered in Norway at the Christiania Theatre. Since then, it has been performed in countries worldwide.

Hedda Gabler is a general?fs daughter who looks to be living a freewheeling life of luxury, but who at the same time harbors feelings of unease, discontent, and an unspeakable impatience. The play offers insight into differences in cultural background, through her interaction with the other main characters: Ejlert Løvborg, a brilliant scholar of cultural history; her husband, Jørgen Tesman; and Judge Brack. The characters?f approach to life and the relationships among them make this a work that resonates strongly with us today, living as we do in a society that is tending toward increased self-centeredness and reclusiveness.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
November 2010

The second production in the ?gJapan Meets?h series is Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by American playwright Tennessee Williams. Williams has said this was his favorite of all his plays, and it won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955. It became a Broadway hit, with direction by Elia Kazan, and a film version was released in 1958 starring ElizaBeth Taylor and Paul Newman. The NNTT version will feature an impressive cast which includes Terashima Shinobu, Kitamura Yukiya and Kiba Katsumi.

Our Town
January 2011

For the third production in the ?gJapan Meets?h series, we present Our Town by American playwright Thornton Wilder. The play premiered in 1938 and won the Pulitzer Prize that year. Ever since, Our Town has been performed all over the world, and is currently enjoying a long run in New York as of this writing in 2009.

The play is staged with little in the way of props or scenery, instead relying on the imagination of actor and audience to advance the narrative. In its style, we find the origins of Contemporary Theatre; Our Town had a major influence on the writers of contemporary plays that came after it.

Taking on the role of stage manager is Kosakai Kazuki, whose entertainment experience makes him a perfect fit for the job. The music will be performed live on a single Steinway by rising pianist Inamoto Hibiki. The outstanding cast includes Saito Yuki, Aijima Kazuyuki, Washio Machiko and Sato Masahiro. Coming in early 2011, this tale centering around two families will be a must-see.

Yakiniku Dragon
February 2011

Set in a yakiniku (Korean BBQ) restaurant in Japan, Yakiniku Dragon tells the story of a Korean family living in Japan. The play - by turns comical, sad, and painful - deals with issues defining the present, past and future of the Japan-ROK relationship. When the play premiered, Chong Wishing said his aim was to portray a big history behind a small yakiniku shop. In this complicated history of people living in cramped quarters by an airport, we find a universal tale that must have played out in countless places back in the day.

Like the premiere, this encore production will feature a delightfully mixed cast of actors, comic storytellers and musicians from both Japan and South Korea, making for a lively time at the Yakiniku Dragon.

For more information, please visit http://www.nntt.jac.go.jp/english/play/index.html

 

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