With the title "Raj Packet -- Everything But Ravi," you can't help but be curious about the performance. "Raj" possibly indicates something to do with British sovereignty over India in the last century;"packet" could be compendium, maybe a selection box of performance chocolates; "everything" as in "everything but the kitchen sink" and Ravi presumably refers to performer Ravi Deepres.
So it was satisfying to see that Ravi Deepres played a large role in the new production by dancer and choreographer Saburo Teshigawara at the New National Theater in Shibuya Dec. 16-17.
There was no sink involved in the props, although a local wag to my left suggested the musicians opening the performance -- Tim Wright, Hilary Jeffery and Neil Griffiths -- had some knowledge of the metal that went into sinks. They were great, loud of course, the way supersonic planes can be loud at close quarters, but great, enhanced by the spectacular computerized lighting system at the state-of-the art theater.