Last week, the Stage page featured a Paris resident's take on an English-language version of "The Bee," a disturbing drama cowritten by Hideki Noda and Irish playwright Colin Teevan that was performed there this month in a 300-seat section of the Theatre de Chaillot.
This week, for another angle on this groundbreaking production directed by Noda, we offer insights into the deep and dark play from a Tokyo-based critic who's seen all the many versions since its 2006 premier, and who was there for the last show in Paris on May 17.
On a set made up of large pieces of paper hanging from the ceiling and a minimum of daily necessities for props, four actors spun a delicate tale of a chain of retribution. In this production, Hideki Noda played a regular Japanese businessman named Mr. Ido, and three English actors (two men and a woman) took multiple roles in the 75-minute tragedy that combines black humor with issues such as human dignity and the role of the media.