News & Features

DRAMA: 18TH January, 2019

2019/20 Season Drama at the New National Theatre, Tokyo

We are pleased to announce the 2019/20 Opera Season at the New National Theatre, Tokyo.

7 PRODUCTIONS IN TOTAL including 1 NEW PLAY

OTHER PROJECTS

Message from OGAWA Eriko, Artistic Director of Drama

　The 2019/2020 season continues in the direction set in the previous season, beginning with three principal works, in addition to which it takes on a series of new challenges.

The first three works of the season are presented as a series on a single theme. The first two are directed by GONOHE Marie and SETOYAMA Misaki, both making their debut at the NNTT. The third work will be undertaken by myself, OGAWA Eriko. This means all three works in the series will be directed by female directors of the same generation. The theme of the series is the relationship between "an individual and a collective"; e.g. individual and the nation, individual and the social structure, and individual versus group ideology. Each of the three directors presents their respective piece from their own perspective, portraying the relationship and interaction between the individual and the collective, along with the entailing friction and discord.

　In April 2020, we present "Reaction Process" by MIYAMOTO Ken, second time we have auditioned all members of the cast. We invited prolific actor CHIBA Tetsuya to direct the cast finalised after more than six weeks of auditioning in December 2018.

　In July and August, we follow on from our opening series. Timed to coincide with the Olympics and Paralympics Games, this two-part series will appeal to adults and children alike, in the hope of encouraging family outings to the theatre. In July, we welcome KOYAMA Yūna in her NNTT debut. In August, we present a new work by NAGATSUKA Keishi, who has presented many works at the NNTT for audiences of all ages. The play will again feature a supercharged cast, including KONDŌ Ryōhei of the Condors dance company, MATSU Takako, and SHUTŌ Yasuyuki.

　This season includes "programming by series of themes" that we were unable to achieve last season. By presenting works in series allows us to explore broader perspectives which is not easily done among other organizations.

　We will also be continuing with the "KOTSU-KOTSU Project" that started in the first season, by carrying out rehearsals and staging private trial performances.

　Also, we are going to start a long-term playwriting workshops in collaboration with the Royal Court in London. The Royal Court is one of the most historical and accomplished theatres in the U.K. known as "the writer's theatre", a leading presence in regards to nurturing upcoming playwrights and new plays. Project planner and playwrights from the Royal Court will come to Japan several times during the season to conduct workshops with Japanese playwrights to write a new play. We are hoping that the workshops will lead to reading performances in Japan and the U.K. This programme will enrich the future of Japanese playwriting and the world of theatre.

　We will also present a joint programme with opera and ballet, continue to push forward with more diverse ways of connecting with our audiences, including our Gallery Project (a series of lectures about working in theatre, theatre-related discussions, and theatre production tours) which continues on from the first season, and theatre-going services for the visually and hearing impaired persons.

Profile of OGAWA Eriko

OGAWA Eriko graduated from Actors Studio Drama School Directing Program in New York in 2004. In 2006 and 2007, she was accepted onto the Agency for Cultural Affairs' Program of Overseas Study for Upcoming Artists.

In 2010, she was awarded the third Odashima Yushi Drama Translation Award for her translation of Sam SHEPARD's "The Late Henry Moss". In 2012, she was the recipient of the 19th Yomiuri Drama Awards Best Director and the Haruko Sugimura Award for her direction of "Twelve Angry Men", "An Inspector Calls" and "Pride". Her direction of "The Pillowman", "The Homecoming" and "Opus" earned her the 48th Kinokuniya Drama Award for Individual Achievement, the 16th Koreya Senda Award and the 21st Yomiuri Drama Awards Best Director in 2014.

Her recent directorial works include "A Behanding in Spokane", "RED", "Nocturnes", "Ubu Roi", "The Dance of Death/Miss Julie", "Crimes of the Heart", "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" and "The Beauty Queen of Leenane".

At the New National Theatre, Tokyo she has directed "Opus", "Constellations", "The Head of Mary: Nagasaki as Theophany" and "1984". She has also worked on a translation of "The Winslow Boy". In September 2016, she took on the role of Artistic Consultant for Drama, and in 2018 she assumed office as the theatre's Artistic Director of Drama.

ARCHIVE