The inaugural Kyoto Experiment aims to present a taste of modernity in Japan's old capital, rather than the traditional stuff everyone already knows.
The monthlong performing arts festival features 10 main programs, including three from abroad.
The overseas contingent includes "Mirai no Watashi (Me in the Future)," a beautiful and imaginative fusion of screen images and live performance by Federico Leon from Buenos Aires.
Among the homegrown talent are "Hiroshima-Hapcheon," a theater- installation program about atomic bomb victims by the Marebito Theater Company; and "And Then Mr. Artaud," a dramatic performance by the Chiten Theater Company based on words by French playwright Antonin Artaud.
Kyoto audiences can also see works by Toshiki Okada's Chelfitsch Theater Company, one of the most popular in current Japanese contemporary drama. The troupe are just back from a successful summer tour of Europe where they performed "Hotpepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech," a piece they will also show at this festival.
Kyoto Experiment runs Oct. 28-Nov. 23 at five different venues in central Kyoto. For more information, call the Kyoto Experiment office at (075) 213-5839 or visit www.kyoto-ex.jp.