"When I acted a nursemaid in 'Romeo and Juliet' in the first program of this Shakespeare for Children series, I was surprised that no children made fun of a man in that role — they naturally accepted that theater is fundamentally fiction and just enjoyed the play," Seisuke Yamasaki recalled in a recent interview.
Reflecting further on that 1995 launch of his ongoing project to introduce the Bard's works to youngsters, Yamasaki — who's a top actor and director in the wider theater world as well — continued, "I realized then that we mustn't underestimate children's capability, because they can enjoy Shakespeare plays just as adults do."
Now an established and hugely popular series, whose productions invariably end with tremendous applause, Shakespeare for Children was first staged at the rate of roughly one play per year at the former Panasonic Globe Theatre in the city's Shinjuku district.