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.
The current occupant of this historic theater is the recently formed Loose Sock theater company. Following its inaugural production of Tom Stoppard's "On the Razzle," Loose Sock will present "The Soul Salon," an original script written and directed by company founder Annie Bilton. Best described as a metaphysical comedy drama, "The Soul Salon" examines the possibility and consequences of altering one's personality, reprograming psychology and eliminating all negative aspects of behavior.
The play's action is divided between the realistic setting of a television talk show and the otherworldly location of the Soul Salon. Noeleen, the salon's proprietress, offers major and minor personality alterations. Souls can be replaced, recharged, renovated or invisibly repaired. Competing for the clients' souls is her sultry, wicked sister, Mavis. The sisters offer apposite solutions to human suffering: Noeleen representing a path of good, Mavis a path of evil. The play has allusions to Goethe's "Faust" and Milton's "Paradise Lost," as well as farcical situations, the most extreme being one client's transformation into a dog.