This past week, health officials called for more than 800 theatergoers to be tested for COVID-19 after at least 59 cases were traced back to performances of a play titled "Werewolf" in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward.
That was, of course, very bad news for those directly affected, but also for all the playwrights and directors who have been scrambling to experiment with different methods of keeping Japan's theater scene alive after a shutdown of more than three months. Although many have chosen to stream performances online, that solution has been met with mixed opinions.
Kenichi Tani, 38, who is the founder of the Dull-Colored Pop theater company and winner of 2019’s prestigious Kishida Kunio drama award, says his experience with online platforms has been less than ideal.