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April 24, 2024
 

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Walter Roberts
For Walter Roberts's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 26, 2005
Talkin' Bertolt
Between his return from the United States after World War II, and his death in 1956, playwright Bertolt Brecht, with his Berliner Ensemble, created one of the finest acting companies in the world -- one which became a testing-ground for his theatrical exploration and challenged the theatrical conventions of the day.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 9, 2003
Roll up, the lion tamer's in town
Hurry, hurry, step right up, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Right this way. The circus has come to town!
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 2, 2003
International theater merits closer inspection
Less than a year since its successful debut production of Moliere's "The Miser," Intrigue Theatre returns to the Studio Akasaka Playbox in Nogizaka. This time round, artistic director Mozaffar Shafeie, formerly of the National Theatre in England, will offer "The Government Inspector," written by Mikolai Gogol in 1836.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 8, 2003
What goes around, comes around . . .
The career of the Austrian author and playwright Arthur Schnitzler (1862-1931) unfolded in Vienna during the heady 19th-century fin de siecle era, when major social and intellectual shifts were sweeping the city.
COMMUNITY
Nov 10, 2002
Lie back and think of . . .
In the early 1950s, neurophysiologist John C. Lilly conducted studies on the human brain for the United States government. To create an environment conducive to the observation of mental activity, Lilly invented the isolation tank -- an environment free of all sensory stimuli.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 22, 2002
Generous with their talents
Nestled among the markets, cafes and residential manshon of northern Nogizaka in Tokyo's Minato Ward is a tiny studio theater called Studio Akasaka Playbox.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 1, 2002
The U.S. Ambassador of Magic
Neither clown nor magician but something of both, Steve Marshall has, from early childhood, been charming audiences with his unique brand of comedy magic. Watching him in action, it is difficult to tell where performance genres begin and end -- what's certain is that they blend into a seamless, entertaining whole.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 24, 2002
Mixed messages follow love at first sight
Love is complex enough at the best of times, but when it crosses cultural borders, things can get really confusing. Opening April 24 at the Shimokitazawa Geki Shogekijo is "John-kun and Yoko-chan," a play co-written by American Michael Naishtut and Japanese Yoko Narahashi that takes a seriocomic look at the trials of cultural misunderstanding and the triumph of true love.
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 27, 2002
Learning not to mask their feelings
A good actor, according to director Louis Fantasia, knows how to kiss -- that is, how to K.I.S.S., an aphorism he borrowed from playwright David Mamet, meaning, "Keep it simple, stupid."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 16, 2002
Getting to where the action is in Chekhov theater workshop
Los Angeles-based international director and acting teacher Louis Fantasia will be returning to Tokyo next month to continue his series of training workshops with an intensive 10-day session on acting.
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 11, 2001
Renegade samurai lead first revolution
Executives of Japan's top 200 corporations were recently given a survey in which they were asked the following question: "Who in the past millennium of world history would you choose to help Japan solve its present financial crisis?"
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 12, 2000
Evening of Marlovian erotica celebrates English literary great
English literature flowered magnificently during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The various writers of the time represent a phase in the development and flexibility of poetry, prose and drama that achieved a beauty and exuberance unmatched in invention and style.
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 7, 2000
Loose Sock theater company offers creative collaboration
Nestled in the cloudy seaside bluffs of Yamate in Yokohama stands the newly renovated Gaiety Theater. With origins dating back to 1870, the Gaiety has operated from various locations and hosted numerous theatrical organizations of Yokohama's foreign thespian community.
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 22, 2000
Success in communication
Observing a rehearsal of the Art of Life company's upcoming production, "John-kun and Yoko-chan," a famous line from the '60s classic "Cool Hand Luke" springs to mind: "What we have here is failure to communicate."
CULTURE / Stage
May 10, 2000
Kee Company explores facets of communication
If we could see language, if language relied on visual instead of aural means, it would become a kind of communication closely resembling telepathy: a fusion of the observer with the observed.
COMMUNITY
Jan 28, 2000
Printed Matter turns 20 with multi-genre event
Printed Matter, "Tokyo's International Literary Review," which boasts of being Japan's oldest English literary journal, can now claim to be Japan's largest.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 30, 1999
Pianist not forcing the feeling
When considering the performance of musicians in regard to taste, it is generally agreed that a player should not intrude his individual personality on the music.
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 30, 1999
'Y5K' travels a sacred journey through levels of self-realization
The Hopi Indians have a prophecy based on an ancient icon thousands of years old called "The Sacred Rock." On the rock is an etching that represents the cycle of mankind's journey, depicting the development and eventual destruction of civilization.
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 19, 1999
Exploring tropical forests of poetry
Stephen Forster has released a new volume of poetry titled "The Good Mouth." In this collection of poems, Forster takes the reader on an imaginative journey to distant lands where conquistadors in tropical forests meet their savage doom, or to places where the omniscient voice of a child uttering the experience of mercury poisoning in the womb can be heard.
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 11, 1999
How to play Hamlet, that is the question
"There are few rules about playing Shakespeare, but many possibilities," said Shakespearean director, educator and theoretician John Barton, in his edifying book "Playing Shakespeare."
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
Japan’s cannabis market growing rapidly amid regulatory shift
The legality of products that contain cannabinoids, a group of substances derived from the cannabis plant, has been somewhat murky in Japan.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
Hybrid work takes root in Japan, survey finds
A dealer works in the trading room at a foreign exchange brokerage in Tokyo on March 28. An overwhelming majority of respondents who currently work remotely in some capacity say they wish to continue to do so.
Shohei Ohtani signs deal with sports technology company Rapsodo
Shohei Ohtani has been appointed as the new technology ambassador for Rapsodo, the company announced Monday.
A craft beer crawl through Tokyo’s top bars, brewpubs and dives
If all you drink is Asahi, Sapporo and Kirin, you're depriving yourself of some of the best craft beer Tokyo has to offer — and there sure is a lot of it out there.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
Tsukiji 2030s: A stadium, culinary center and transportation hub
A computer-generated image shows redevelopment plans for the former site of the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo.
Hearing the impact of climate change in Okinawa, one bird call at a time
Toshihiro Kinjo (center), a research support technician at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, inspects an audio recording device in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on April 3 as Masako Ogasawara, a research support specialist at OIST, looks on.
Japan’s cannabis market growing rapidly amid regulatory shift
The legality of products that contain cannabinoids, a group of substances derived from the cannabis plant, has been somewhat murky in Japan.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability
Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability

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