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SoraNews24
a day ago
- Entertainment
- SoraNews24
David Bowie's Lazarus makes its debut in Japan, bringing his love for the country full circle
Experience the unstoppable love for Bowie in this electrifying Japanese production. Back in 2013, David Bowie met with his friend, the renowned theatre, film, and television producer Robert Fox, and revealed his desire to create a musical based on Thomas Newton, the character he played in the 1976 film The Man Who Fell to Earth . Fox suggested they bring Irish playwright Enda Walsh on board, a genius decision as Walsh's raw and free-flowing writing style frequently explores themes of identity and isolation in ways that skirt the absurd and lay bare the fragility of the human condition, creating a frisson of tension that's not unlike the tone of the original film. The collaboration gave birth to Lazarus , a jukebox musical that weaves Bowie's songs into a dreamlike world set in New York, where Newton, a humanoid alien, now lives decades after the events of the film, alone in his apartment… and in his head. Cultural influences from Japan, a country that Bowie long held an affection for, serve to colour the narrative, so it's fitting that now, nearly 10 years after the musical debuted in New York City on 18 November 2015, Japan is able to return the love for the rock legend, with Lazarus opening at the Kanagawa Arts Theatre (KAAT) on 31 May. ▼ The main cast, with director Akira Shirai (left), who has directed all of the Japanese versions of Walsh's plays, including Ballyturk and Medicine . At a press conference held ahead of opening night, Shirai said it was a great honour to present Bowie and Walsh's work for the first time in Japan. In describing what audiences can expect to see from the Japanese production, he said: 'While it is billed as a musical, it is a piece that cannot really be defined within the usual boundaries of a musical — it is outside the standard, or perhaps without any standard at all. It doesn't fit neatly into the categories of drama, musical, or concert'. Fitting neatly into norms is something neither Bowie nor Walsh would ever likely want to do, and this work presents itself as a thrilling theatrical journey that pushes against ordinary restraints, much like the characters on stage. Over the course of roughly two hours, every character is pushed to their limit, teetering on the edge of love, life, grief, death, and insanity in ways that highlight the frailty and strength of the human spirit, inspiring the audience to think beyond ordinary realms of possibility. It's a roller-coaster of a journey you won't want to miss, and it's helmed by Mitsuru Matsuoka, who's been fronting the band SOPHIA for 30 years. Playing the main role of Newton, Matsuoka brings his rock star energy to the stage, pouring out vulnerability and rage in equal measures that make him seem at once like a frail bird with a broken wing and a lion about to break free from a cage. It's a role he feels he was destined to play, saying, 'If I hadn't encountered David Bowie when I was 14, I probably wouldn't have become a band member, SOPHIA wouldn't exist, and I wouldn't be where I am today.' Matsuoka believes he's been guided by Bowie, and has a deep respect for him, seeing himself as 'a messenger tasked with delivering Bowie's last message, his will'. Matsuoka certainly gives his all to the role, belting out songs like 'Lazarus' and 'Where Are We Now?' with an ease that draws from a life lived drinking at Bowie's creative well. His presence on stage is matched, and quite nearly eclipsed, by Rio Uehara, a classically trained vocalist who harnesses both baritone and tenor ranges to bring light and shade to the menacing character of Valentine, making us feel both attracted and repulsed by him. During one memorable moment, Valentine appears in a cloak of black feathers, a clever costuming choice that visually connects the character to Ryuk, the black feather-shouldered shinigami ('god of death') from the hugely popular Japanese manga and anime series Death Note . There are striking parallels between Ryuk and Valentine, who both find pleasure in provoking people for their own entertainment while disrupting the protagonist's journey with a disregard for human life and morality. The power to inflict death fizzes in their fingers like an ever-enticing itch that needs scratching. In stark contrast, Erika Toyohara brings light to the stage in the role of Girl, with an innocence that's strong and unyielding. The brightness of her character is matched by the brightness of her voice, which brings newfound poignancy to the opening lyrics when she sings 'Life on Mars'. 'It's a god-awful small affair / To the girl with the mousy hair / But her mummy is yelling, 'No' / And her daddy has told her to go' Emiko Suzuki, in the role of Elly, does an equally beautiful job with 'Changes', which sees her bounding about the stage and masterfully handling outfit changes, all while hitting her notes flawlessly. Every member of the cast — including the ensemble — delivers strong performances, with Goto Watabe as Zach (above), Yusuke Toyama as Michael (below)… ▼ …and Tsubasa Sakiyama in the role of Ben. Mayuko Kominami draws upon her classical dance and voice training to play the role of both Maemi (above) and Japanese Woman (below) with remarkable poise. The set is like a character all of its own, with a stack of television boxes centre stage acting as a nod to the old sets that Newton watches in The Man Who Fell to Earth . The images that appear on the TVs provide a sense of the wider world outside the confines of the small set, while bursts of white noise serve to connect the audience with the action on stage, tuning us into the same frequency as the characters' distress. Images are also projected onto the scrim, a large background screen that appears opaque when lit from the front but becomes transparent when lit from behind, helping to create dramatic visual effects. Not only does it allow for massive projections to enhance the narrative, it also lets us see the live band on stage at select moments and creates space for the Japanese surtitles to be creatively placed, with words tumbling down the screen at one point to match Newton's frenetic, descent-into-madness energy. Only at the very end, when the ceiling of Newton's room lifts and the set opens up to reveal the full space of the stage, are we able to catch our breath and feel a sense of release from the tension. It's confronting and thrilling in the way you expect from good theatre, and to see it in Japan, a place that inspired Bowie's creativity, is a very special thing indeed. While the actors speak Japanese on stage, all songs are sung in English, as was Bowie's wish for overseas productions, so even if you don't understand Japanese, the show will give you goosebumps. Lazarus will be performed at the Kanagawa Arts Theatre until 14 June, before moving to Festival Hall in Osaka for two matinee shows on 28 and 29 June. Tickets can be purchased at the links below. Tickets for Kanagawa Arts Theatre: Kyodo Tokyo (official ticket site in English), e+, Ticket Pia (P-code: 533418), Lawson Ticket (L-code: 31548), Rakuten Ticket Tickets for Festival Hall in Osaka: Festival Hall, CN Playguide, e+, Ticket Pia (P-code: 533‐620), Lawson Ticket (L-code: 52387), Rakuten Ticket Related: Lazarus Japan Images: Press release ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? 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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Scottish-Japanese co-production the big winner at 2025 CATS
The winners for this year's Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) have been revealed. The awards, which celebrate and recognize the best achievements in Scottish theatre, were presented at Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre on Sunday. Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey, an international collaboration between Glasgow-based Vanishing Point and Kanagawa Arts Theatre of Yokohama, Japan (in association with Tramway), was the big winner, picking up four awards. Based on short stories by the acclaimed Japanese writer Haruki Murakamki, Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey won 'Best Design', 'Best Technical' and 'Best Ensemble' awards, with Sandy Grierson, who played the eponymous monkey, receiving an 'Outstanding Performance' award. Sandy Grierson in the Vanishing Point-Kanagawa Arts Theatre co-production of Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey (Image: Mihaela Bodlovic) CATS co-convenor Mark Brown said: 'Scottish theatre has enjoyed a renaissance in the period since the Second World War. 'Internationalism has been a primary driver of that revival and one of the key exponents of that internationalism – over the past 26 years – has been Glasgow-based theatre company Vanishing Point. Their unique form of international theatre as witnessed in Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey sees the integration of multiple languages and cultures in a single show.' Anna Burnside of Corr Blimey! and Across the Arts said: 'Sandy Grierson was an extraordinary monkey, matter of fact and believable while undeniably an animal. 'His physicality was entirely convincing and, working with a skilled puppeteer, his tail added an extra layer of nuance to an already astounding performance. This was something very special.' READ MORE: Lear, Traverse Theatre: 'mesmerising depiction of one of the world's great tragedies' This Swan Lake not only seizes the audience's imagination - it captures their hearts These could be Scotland's theatre stars of tomorrow The supreme award, 'Best Production', went to Hedda Gabler, the second collaboration between Gordon Barr (director), Kathy McKean (writer) and Nicole Cooper (Hedda) for Bard in the Botanics. This award follows the success of their first collaboration, Medea, which won the 'Best Production' award at the 2022 CATS. CATS co-convenor Joyce McMillan said: 'In recent years, Bard in the Botanics have extended their work beyond Shakespeare to embrace other mighty writers and stories; and there is none greater than Henrik Ibsen. 'Last year, they presented his huge and haunting 1891 tragedy in the perfect surroundings of the Kibble Palace, in a thrilling new version by Kathy McKean, and in a production by Gordon Barr with Nicole Cooper as Hedda that fairly took the breath away with its pace and intensity.' Meanwhile, the first 'Outstanding Panto' award was scooped by the Gaiety Theatre, Ayr's Mother Goose. Mother Goose, Ayr Gaiety (Image: Tommy GA-Ken Wan) Thom Dibdin of All Edinburgh Theatre said: "This was a panto packed with local references, that oozed love and laughter, and which eschewed a shoe-horned wedding to bring a message of hope and reconciliation at the finale. 'Above all, however, this was a panto which dared. Dared to bring in big topical political comedy, dared to acknowledge societal concerns, dared to name-check the venue's panto greats over the years and dared to have Deaf characters in the cast and company using the fact of their deafness to up the physicality for everyone to see.' The second 'Oustanding Performance' award went to Kirsty Findlay for the title role in Beautiful: The Carole King Story at Pitlochry Festival, where 'she embodied the legendary singer songwriter with a depth and maturity that was riveting to watch'. The 'Best Director' award was won by Andrew Panton for A History of Paper (Dundee Rep/Traverse Theatre). Nicole Cooper in the title role in Kathy McKean's version of Hedda Gabler, directed by Gordon Barr at 2024 Bard in the Botanics (Image: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan) Douglas Maxwell picked up the 'Best New Play' award for the second year in a row. Following his success with The Sheriff of Kalamaki last year, Maxwell won the 2025 award for So Young (Traverse Theatre, Raw Material and Citizens Theatre). CATS co-convenor Michael Cox said: 'Douglas Maxwell proves again that he is one of Scottish theatre's best playwrights. 'This is underlined by the fact that he's not only won this award back-to-back, but for two very distinctive plays which have only their excellence in common.' Yellow Canary, Tashi Gore's powerful family story of survival during the Nazi Holocaust (produced by Glass Performance), won the 'Best Production For Children and Young People' award, and the Royal Lyceum' s Wild Rose won the 'Best Sound and Music' award. In total, around 140 works created in Scotland in 2024-5 were eligible for the 2025 CATS, of which over 120 were new plays.
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Scottish-Japanese co-production the big winner at 2025 CATS
Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey, an international collaboration between Glasgow-based Vanishing Point and Kanagawa Arts Theatre of Yokohama, Japan (in association with Tramway), was the big winner, picking up four awards. Based on short stories by the acclaimed Japanese writer Haruki Murakamki, Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey won 'Best Design', 'Best Technical' and 'Best Ensemble' awards, with Sandy Grierson, who played the eponymous monkey, receiving an 'Outstanding Performance' award. Sandy Grierson in the Vanishing Point-Kanagawa Arts Theatre co-production of Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey (Image: Mihaela Bodlovic) CATS co-convenor Mark Brown said: 'Scottish theatre has enjoyed a renaissance in the period since the Second World War. 'Internationalism has been a primary driver of that revival and one of the key exponents of that internationalism – over the past 26 years – has been Glasgow-based theatre company Vanishing Point. Their unique form of international theatre as witnessed in Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey sees the integration of multiple languages and cultures in a single show.' Anna Burnside of Corr Blimey! and Across the Arts said: 'Sandy Grierson was an extraordinary monkey, matter of fact and believable while undeniably an animal. 'His physicality was entirely convincing and, working with a skilled puppeteer, his tail added an extra layer of nuance to an already astounding performance. This was something very special.' READ MORE: The supreme award, 'Best Production', went to Hedda Gabler, the second collaboration between Gordon Barr (director), Kathy McKean (writer) and Nicole Cooper (Hedda) for Bard in the Botanics. This award follows the success of their first collaboration, Medea, which won the 'Best Production' award at the 2022 CATS. CATS co-convenor Joyce McMillan said: 'In recent years, Bard in the Botanics have extended their work beyond Shakespeare to embrace other mighty writers and stories; and there is none greater than Henrik Ibsen. 'Last year, they presented his huge and haunting 1891 tragedy in the perfect surroundings of the Kibble Palace, in a thrilling new version by Kathy McKean, and in a production by Gordon Barr with Nicole Cooper as Hedda that fairly took the breath away with its pace and intensity.' Meanwhile, the first 'Outstanding Panto' award was scooped by the Gaiety Theatre, Ayr's Mother Goose. Mother Goose, Ayr Gaiety (Image: Tommy GA-Ken Wan) Thom Dibdin of All Edinburgh Theatre said: "This was a panto packed with local references, that oozed love and laughter, and which eschewed a shoe-horned wedding to bring a message of hope and reconciliation at the finale. 'Above all, however, this was a panto which dared. Dared to bring in big topical political comedy, dared to acknowledge societal concerns, dared to name-check the venue's panto greats over the years and dared to have Deaf characters in the cast and company using the fact of their deafness to up the physicality for everyone to see.' The second 'Oustanding Performance' award went to Kirsty Findlay for the title role in Beautiful: The Carole King Story at Pitlochry Festival, where 'she embodied the legendary singer songwriter with a depth and maturity that was riveting to watch'. The 'Best Director' award was won by Andrew Panton for A History of Paper (Dundee Rep/Traverse Theatre). Nicole Cooper in the title role in Kathy McKean's version of Hedda Gabler, directed by Gordon Barr at 2024 Bard in the Botanics (Image: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan) Douglas Maxwell picked up the 'Best New Play' award for the second year in a row. Following his success with The Sheriff of Kalamaki last year, Maxwell won the 2025 award for So Young (Traverse Theatre, Raw Material and Citizens Theatre). CATS co-convenor Michael Cox said: 'Douglas Maxwell proves again that he is one of Scottish theatre's best playwrights. 'This is underlined by the fact that he's not only won this award back-to-back, but for two very distinctive plays which have only their excellence in common.' Yellow Canary, Tashi Gore's powerful family story of survival during the Nazi Holocaust (produced by Glass Performance), won the 'Best Production For Children and Young People' award, and the Royal Lyceum' s Wild Rose won the 'Best Sound and Music' award. In total, around 140 works created in Scotland in 2024-5 were eligible for the 2025 CATS, of which over 120 were new plays.
The Guardian
23-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey review – gorgeous whimsy from Haruki Murakami
Mizuki Ando has a distressing condition. Played by Rin Nasu, she is not a demonstrative woman, but insists on finding a cure. Referred to a counsellor, she describes her only symptom: she cannot remember her name. Elicia Daly's empathetic therapist takes her seriously. 'Without a name we're nothing,' she says. It is a scene from Haruki Murakami's 2006 short story A Shinagawa Monkey, about a woman fearing for her sense of identity. Here, in this collaboration between Glasgow's Vanishing Point and Yokohama's Kanagawa Arts Theatre , it provides an extra layer of intrigue to an adaptation of the author's more recent Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey, which is a magical-realist encounter between a man and a talking animal in a down-at-heel ryokan, the only place the man can find a room for the night. Adapted by director Matthew Lenton and actor Sandy Grierson, these short tales have a dream-like uncertainty, the line blurred between real and imagined. What is less likely: that a monkey might work in a hot-spring bathhouse or that he has a fetish for stealing women's names? Like the set that appears and evaporates – a triumph of stage management – the narrative offers little solid ground. No question this can be beguiling, but on stage, it is also a limitation. What is whimsical and unknowable in just 30 pages of print feels like it is straining for meaning across a 90-minute production. Even on a metaphorical level, loss of identity is not one of the burning issues of the day. It is an intriguing idea for a brief, elliptical story, not a dramatic dilemma. It means a theatrically gorgeous show is thematically slight. But gorgeous it is. Bathed in Simon Wilkinson's dusty orange lights, the stage occupies a space between night and day, wake and sleep, where the unsettling patterns of Mark Melville's sound design slowly give way to the soothing melodies of Bruckner. The actors fade in and out of focus, a shadowy chorus bearing witness to Grierson's astonishing performance as the Shinagawa Monkey, his politeness disrupted by guttural grunts, his human manners overwhelmed by simian impulse. Scratching, tumbling and longing for connection, he could be our darker animal selves. At Tramway, Glasgow, until 1 March; then at Dundee Rep, 6-8 March
