Yoru no Michizure

Kotsu-kotsu means "step-by-step" in Japanese, and the Kotsu-Kotsu Project aims to have a rehearsal period unimpeded by time constraints and to allow all creators to share their concerns, thus enabling greater comprehension of the work and producing a performance that conveys the richness of the theatre to as much of the audience as possible. The second period started in 2021, and the final trial performance took place in February 2022. After that final trial performance, discussions took place over how to further enrich the work. This year's project began again with one of the members continuing to the following third period, and the performance is made public to all as a Studio Performance.
First appearing in literary publication Gunzo in 1950, Yoru no Michizure is a play--similar to a road movie--about two men plodding slowly along the Koshu-Kaido Road at night after a war-time defeat.
Directed by Yaginuma Akinori, the founder of Kyoto-based theatre troupe Karasuma Stroke Rock. Within his own works, Yaginuma uses "walking" as a device to encounter people and events, engage in dialogue, or bring about awareness to regret or forget the past, making this play particularly captivating for him. The initial rehearsal stage involved actual fieldwork walking the Koshu-Kaido Road and verification of the physical aspects of the play, all as part of the rehearsal process. As trial performances continued, this play transformed into a magical work that let the audience members feel just as though they were walking together with the actors who were performing the acts of speaking and walking. Burrowing deeply into time and space, this play aspires toward even further evolution.