Japan Society Presents One Night Only Talk with Basil Twist Next Month

In this live in-person talk at Japan Society, puppet artist extraordinaire Basil Twist sits down to discuss his creative role in Joe Hisaishi and the Royal Shakespeare Company's current staging of the beloved Studio Ghibli animated feature film, My Neighbour Totoro, in collaboration with Improbable and Nippon TV.

Twist is known for surprising audiences with his infinite creativity, from 88 magical Japanese screen doors (Dogugaeshi) and dancing fabrics in an on-stage water tank (Symphonie Fantastique) to a gigantic rock creature in his most recent work (Book of Mountains & Seas). In this one night only event, Twist will share backstage images and describe the process of creating real-life versions of the film's fantastical creatures for the live staging of My Neighbour Totoro at London's Barbican this fall. "Behind-the-scenes of My Neighbour Totoro" takes place at 6:30pm on Thursday, November 10 at Japan Society (333 East 47th Street).

Tickets & Information:

Thursday November 10 at 6:30pm / "Behind-the-scenes of My Neighbour Totoro"

Tickets are $20 / $16 Japan Society members.

**A special, separately-ticketed 35mm screening of the beloved classic anime on November 4 at 7pm, in Japanese with English subtitles.

Tickets can be purchased online at https://www.japansociety.org/events/behind-the-scenes-of-my-neighbour-totoro/ or by calling the Box Office at 212-715-1258 (M-F 11:00am - 6:00pm). Japan Society is located at 333 East 47th Street, between First and Second Avenues (accessible by the 4/5/6 at 42nd Street-Grand Central Station or the E at Lexington Avenue and 53rd Street). For more information, call 212-832-1155 or visit http://www.japansociety.org

Basil Twist is a third-generation puppeteer, originally from San Francisco. Since coming to New York over 23 years ago, Twist has garnered an international reputation as an audacious designer, director and performer. Twist creates iconic, visionary puppetry worlds with a remarkable range of style and scope appearing in intimate nightclubs to large orchestra halls. He is a sought-after collaborator for theatre, ballet, opera, dance and film. His utterly unique approaches have been recognized with multiple awards and fellowships; critical acclaim and have furthered contemporary artistry and the technical craft of puppetry.

Twist is known for revitalizing puppetry as a serious and sophisticated art form through his imaginative experiments with materials, techniques and uses in both narrative and abstract works. Twist's shows range from productions of classic stories to abstract visualizations of orchestral music and are informed by puppetry traditions from around the world. Twist received a degree from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts de la Marionnette (ESNAM) in Charleville-Mézières, France, where he was trained in set design, costume design, dramaturgy, music and acting. Twist's original work includes Symphonie Fantastique (1998) which featured abstract materials in a tank of water to simulate imagery and characters to music. He contributed to the magic of Alfonso Cuarón's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, creating the Dementors. Highlights of his original shows include Petrushka, Dogugaeshi (commissioned by Japan Society), Rite of Spring, Hansel & Gretel, Arias with a Twist, La Bella Dormente nel Bosco, Sisters Follies, A Streetcar named Desire (La Comédie Française, also co-director), and most recently the two operas Jean Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville's Titon et l'Aurore at the Opera Comique (for online presentation in 2021 and live at the Palace of Versailles in 2022) and Book of Mountains & Seas by composer Huang Ruo in Copenhagen, New York City and soon to be at Koorbiennale Amsterdam. His honours include Obie, Henry Hewes and Doris Duke Performing awards, multiple UNIMA and Bessie Awards, a Guggenheim fellowship and a MacArthur Fellowship. Since 1999 he has served as Artistic Director of the Dream Music Puppetry Program at HERE in New York City.