Japanese theatre group heading to Dumfries and Galloway to explore new play
A Japanese theatre group will arrive in the Glenkens this weekend for a two week stay.
Bird Theatre will be based at the CatStrand in New Galloway for the next fortnight to explore a new play called Towa Mura.
The play is written by Tom Pow, directed by Makoto Nakashima and will be performed by actors from the UK and Bird Theatre, with music written and performed by The Galloway Agreement.
A free, ticketed presentation of the work in progress will be performed at the CatStrand on Wednesdya, August 6.
The visit – funded by Creative Scotland and The Japan Foundation – is the latest stage of a relationship which began three years ago when Ruth Morris, producer of The Village and The Road by Tom Pow and The Galloway Agreement, received an exciting email from Japan.
The show, which concerns rural depopulation in Europe, had just been performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as part of the Made in Scotland Showcase. Bird Theatre Festival was inviting the company to perform at the theatre festival at Shikano in the prefecture of Tottori.
The show was translated and performed with subtitles and the response was so positive the company was invited back for the following year, with additional Japanese material and a book of poems – Ghosts at Play – by Tom Pow, based on fieldwork he had done in Japanese villages that first year.
On the second visit, The Galloway Agreement held a concert with Japanese musicians and a feeling grew that such collaborations could be extended further. After many conversations, it was decided that this time an exchange was possible, paving the way for this year's visit.
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