Cast Set For ONE SMALL STEP UK Premiere

Mark Takeshi Ota, Susan Momoko Hingley and Jay Faisca will star in the world premiere of ONE SMALL STEP, written and directed by Takuya Kato, translated by Andrew Eglinton and Mika Eglinton, at Charing Cross Theatre from Friday 27 September to Wednesday 9 October.

ONE SMALL STEP (together with TATTOOER, 14-26 October) features in a season of new UK-Japan collaboration projects featuring up-and-coming Japanese writers and directors, produced by Umeda Arts Theater.

ONE SMALL STEP is an original play by Takuya Kato, a prolific young Japanese playwright and director, developed in Japan and the UK through workshops and readings with UK artists.

Takashi and Narumi are a married couple, working for a major contractor on a project to migrate humans to the Moon where a city is being established where humanity’s ideal new life can begin. But they suddenly encounter an unexpected setback to their plans…

Mark Takeshi Ota plays Takashi. His recent theatre credits include: My Neighbour Totoro (RSC); Garden Of Words (Park Theatre); How To Hold Your Breath (Royal Court Theatre); Amaterasu - Out Of The Cave (Arcola Theatre); The Art Of Gaman (Theatre 503); Into The Numbers (Finborough Theatre); Poker Face (King’s Head Theatre). Film and TV includes: Little English.

Susan Momoko Hingley plays Narumi. Her theatre credits include: The Garden Of Words (Park Theatre); My Neighbour Totoro, Wendy and Peter Pan, Orphan Of Zhao, Boris Godunov, A Life of
Galileo (Royal Shakespeare Company); Missing People (Leeds Playhouse & Japan tour);  A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre & international tour); Dorian Gray (New National Theatre, Japan); Tamburlaine (Arcola Theatre). Film and TV includes: Years And Years (BBC/HBO); Doctors (BBC); Shino’s Show; The Gloaming; Household Gods.

Jay Faisca plays The Man (voiceover only). Jay is a Puerto Rican American actor from New York City. He was a regular performer at Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles before attending the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School - the first Puerto Rican actor to do so. Theatre includes: Ray Court in The Bodyguard (Ljubljana Festival); Sitting Bull in Annie Get Your Gun (Lavender Theatre - inaugural season); Alf in
J. Holtham’s Creation (Union Theatre); Waiting For Godot; Much Ado About Nothing. Film and TV includes: CSI; Grey’s Anatomy.

Writer/director Takuya Kato said: “ONE SMALL STEP might appear to be futuristic but in reality it’s the story of a future that’s already nearly here. It’s also a story that raises important questions about the roles of the mother and motherhood, which is an issue that working couples all over the world face in their private lives. I’m very excited to be able to develop this new piece in the UK and explore that the differences between our two cultures are more similar than we may think.”