The government's Cool Japan initiative may be focused on spreading anime around the world, but Japanese culture scored a significant victory in France earlier this month in the world of theater. Director Satoshi Miyagi, 58, became the first Asian dramatist to present the opening play at the renowned Avignon Festival, which ...
When the call for auditions went out in November 2015, 1,346 boys sent in their head shots and resumes hoping to land what could be a life-changing role as the titular lead in a Japanese production of "Billy Elliot." The competition was fierce — around ...
The neighborhood surrounding Yurakucho Station isn't exactly starved for things to do. The Ginza is an area of intense competition for Tokyoites' leisure time, hosting countless bars, eateries and shops, as well as theaters dedicated to traditional kabuki and the famed all-female Takarazuka Revue. Still, ...
Summer in Tokyo: Excessive heat, relentless humidity and languid evenings spring to mind. Rather than fight the elements, visitors and Tokyoites alike are recommended to go with the flow and embrace sweltering temperatures. With the rainy season upon us and sizzling summer days just ...
A male Japanese dancer took the top prize and his female compatriot grabbed third place in their respective senior divisions of an international ballet competition held Monday in Moscow, sources revealed prior to the official announcement of the results. At the XIII International Ballet Competition ...
The Kanze Noh Theater reopened in April in Ginza Six, a new upscale shopping complex in central Tokyo that seeks to attract domestic and foreign audiences to a wide range of the country's traditional performing arts. With this in mind, the complex's owners reached out ...
"Not everything can be explained in words. Everyone draws a different nuance from the word 'love,' for example," says 50-year-old Shuji Onodera. "Yet through dance I've discovered a special beauty beyond words." Onodera, a leading mime artist and director, is talking about the language of ...
Sitting down with Condors frontman Ryohei Kondo, he says something a bit surprising: “’17’s Map’ is a work in progress.” This sounds startling at first as we're just three weeks from the curtain rising on the all-male dance troupe's newest production, which shares its name ...
At 37, director Shuntaro Fujita says he's just hitting his prime. "Many people say they liked being in their teens the best, but now my springtime has arrived. Mentally, I'm at the peak of my enthusiasm," he tells The Japan Times at a rehearsal studio ...
The old never give the young an easy time. "They think they know everything," "They're lazy" — the cross-generational gripes have been around as long as people have. One person who likely had a particularly hard time with his elders was the young German playwright ...
For the 50-year-old Chinese opera performer, every aspect of the dimly lit backstage room was a reminder that things had changed. The elaborate costumes carelessly thrown aside, the young troupe members playing with their smartphones, the half-eaten noodles abandoned in the corner — all were ...
Franco-Austrian choreographer and director Gisele Vienne is fascinated by puppets and brings a group of nine ventriloquists and their marionettes to the stage in her latest piece, "The Ventriloquists Convention." The play is part of the World Theatre Festival Shizuoka run by Shizuoka Performing ...
At a recent news conference, Satoshi Miyagi, the artistic director of Shizuoka Performing Arts Center (SPAC), gave notice of an imminent invasion — by girigirijin. He explained that these "trailblazers" were set to descend on the annual World Theatre Festival Shizuoka, armed with ideas and ...
