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Dateline: 12th July, 2004
International Company Brings Japanese Plays to Greenwich Yukio Mishima's Sotoba Komachi and The Damask Drum make their UK premiere for the first time in a new contemporary translation. Utilising a diverse range of techniques, the Stone Crabs company creates a bdouble bill which incorporates the spoken word with dance, movement and lyricism. Politically outspoken and extreme, Yukio Mishima is undoubtedly one of the most controversial and paradoxical figures of 20th Century Japanese literature. Whilst fighting for the resurrection of the traditional Samurai values and code of honour, Mishima modernised several traditional Noh plays and embraced many aspects of a western lifestyle. Ultimately, in protest at what he saw as a detrimental globalisation and spiritual degeneration, Mishima killed himself in spectacular fashion, committing Seppuku, the ritualised Samurai suicide involving disembowelment and eventual beheading. Throughout his strange and troubled life however, Mishima was able to create work that possesses a universal relevance, exploring themes and ideas pertinent to all. In Sotoba Komachi, we encounter a 99-year-old bag lady who haunts a twilit park full of lovers and is questioned by a drunken writer. She reveals that she was once a great beauty who was courted by a handsome captain. Although she is now old, ugly and wrinkled, the writer, his vision transformed by love, is able to see Komachi as she once was. Despite knowing that all men who tell Komachi she is beautiful meet their death, overwhelmed by love, he is unable to resist the temptation. In the tale of The Damask Drum, the performers bring to life, through movement, the tragic story of an elderly caretaker/gardener who falls in love with a young lawyer to whom he writes 101 love letters. Unmoved by mere words, she sets him an apparently impossible challenge and the story draws to a close with heartbreaking consequences. Stone Crabs brings together a diverse mix of internationally renowned artists and practitioners to realise the work of Mishima. Collaborators on the project include Japanese performers Ecco Shirasaka, who worked in Pericles at the National Theatre under legendary Japanese director Ninagawa, and Akiko Sato, a member of the internationally acclaimed Dende Collective. Joining these artists are, among others, Australian Belinda Hoare, fresh from her success in the Stone Crabs production of Martin Crimp's The Country, and Korean Jay Lim, known for his distinctly physical technique. Performer Tereza Araujo is the recipient of Brazil's Best Actress Award. Prominent members of the production team include Set Designer Nigel Hook, whose experience in both fringe and mainstream theatre has spanned over 20 years. Sound Designer Luciano Peru, renowned for his work in cinema, most notably the successful City of God, makes his theatrical debut with Stone Crabs. Assistant Director Natacha Metherell has worked extensively with the Royal Opera House, most recently on productions such as Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale and Onegin by Tchaikovsky.
Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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