Tag - theatre

 
Menu
Search
 
September 19, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

THEATRE

Sung in Japanese, German and Ukrainian, “Natasha” is a multilingual opera with a multinational cast. Belgian soprano Ilse Eerens will originate the titular role, with Japanese mezzo-soprano Hiroka Yamashita as Arato and German baritone Christian Miedl as their trickster guide.
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 9, 2025
‘Natasha’ distills global zeitgeist on the opera stage
An original work commissioned by the New National Theatre, Tokyo, “Natasha” is a multilingual opera with a multinational cast from Japan, Germany and Belgium.
Set in a village in the Swiss Alps, Vincenzo Bellini’s opera “La Sonnambula” centers on an orphan named Amina who is unknowingly frightening the locals with her nightly sleepwalking, and they believe there is a ghost among them.
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 26, 2024
'La Sonnambula' offers a modern take on a dubious happy ending
Director Barbara Lluch scrutinizes gender expectations and patriarchal societies that thrive on polarizing views in her production of Vincenzo Bellini’s opera.
Japan Times contributor Laura Pollacco (front right) was offered the role of one of her all-time favorite heroines, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet, in the Tokyo International Players’ production of “Pride and Prejudice.”
CULTURE / Stage
May 18, 2024
Local theater in Japan is more than a hobby — it’s a community
For contributor Laura Pollacco, companies such as Tokyo International Players and Sheepdog Theatre offer a home away from home.
Various aspects of Japan’s Sado Island — noh, taiko drumming, business investment and cultural regeneration projects — weave their way into “L’ile d’Or Kanemu-Jima,” with characters and cultures coming together in a melting pot of real-world political problems, theater styles and dark humor.
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 20, 2023
Cultures collide in Ariane Mnouchkine's Sado Island-inspired play
The Kyoto Prize-winning French theater director's latest production, "L’ile d’Or Kanemu-Jima," draws from her experiences in Japan, both old and new.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 18, 2020
‘Knife’ critiques human nature through mime and dance
Choreographer Shuji Onodera was given total artistic freedom to create his adaption of Guy de Maupassant's “Boule de Suif” with a multicultural cast.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 16, 2020
‘Theatre: A Love Story’: No sparks in this tortured romance
Based on a novel by comedian-turned-author Naoki Matayoshi, “Theatre: A Love Story” centers on a narcissistic playwright and his long-suffering girlfriend.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 5, 2020
World Theatre Festival Shizuoka heads online in desperate times
By taking a key arts festival online, Satoshi Miyagi is finding ways to ensure that theater survives the pandemic.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 4, 2020
COVID-19 plays the spoiler as stages try to reopen in Japan
Even in the age of COVID-19, the show must go on, and go on it will.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 13, 2020
Conquering history and conquering the stage with Ken Watanabe
Japanese actor Ken Watanabe returns to 'Pizarro' 35 years after his last performance in the play, this time in the lead role as the titular Spanish conquistador.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 5, 2020
Updating 'Romeo and Juliet' in a bid to fight prejudice in Japan
Wishing Chong brings an all-male version of 'Romeo and Juliet,' set in post-war Western Japan, to the stage in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 20, 2019
Bringing a Greek tragedy to 21st-century Japan
Theater director Kunio Sugihara unveils his latest work, an adaptation of John Barton's 10-hour epic, 'The Greeks'
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 6, 2019
The theater hoping to create a 100-year legacy
Months after it opened its doors, Theatre E9 Kyoto is pressing on with its plan to foster local talent and stage local theater productions in the city
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 13, 2019
The Theatre Olympics goes back to its roots for ninth iteration
Since the late 1970s, people from all over the world have traveled to the village of Toga in rural Toyama Prefecture to attend Tadashi Suzuki's renowned acting classes or to see the Suzuki Company of Toga (SCOT) and other invited artists perform at the site's specially crafted indoor and outdoor theater...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 23, 2019
Dancer Kaiji Moriyama celebrates ninja in his latest work
A creative yet shy child fascinated with origami and crafts, Kaiji Moriyama discovered dance late, at the age of 21 while a university student. He has certainly made up for the lost time, though. Just seven years since first studying the art form, he performed to rave reviews at the 2001 Edinburgh Festival...
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Oct 20, 2018
Life lessons from the master of noh Zeami
Stately, stylized noh arose from primitive, rollicking ancestors — sarugaku (monkey music) and dengaku (rural music). Two qualities in particular define it: yu016bgen (mystery) and monomane (imitation).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 3, 2018
Keiko Miyata to mark departure from the New National Theatre, Tokyo, with piece by up-and-coming playwright
After eight years as artistic director for drama at the New National Theatre, Tokyo, Keiko Miyata, 60, is now tackling her final program there before passing the baton to 39-year-old Eriko Ogawa, who is set to become the theater's youngest-ever director in September.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 21, 2018
Ian Buruma's 'A Tokyo Romance' captures the beating heart of avant-garde Japan
Landing in the Japanese capital in 1975 was a bit of a shock. 'The crowds, the noise, the visual excess' — everything seemed over-the-top.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 19, 2018
Shizuoka stage festival aims to engage its audiences the old-fashioned way
This hasn't been a great year for social media. Internet addiction has been a hot topic, as have privacy issues, and there has even been a movement to #DeleteFacebook.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 11, 2018
'Ballyturk' delivers a surreal yet exciting challenge
When Akira Shirai first read the script for "Ballyturk," he quickly understood why its creator, Irish playwright Enda Walsh, said the work "should bypass the intellect and go straight into your bones."
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japan dispatches five language education 'partners' to India
Five members of the Japan Foundation's Nihongo Partners program (front) gather at the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Monday.
End of U.S. de minimis exemption causes headaches for some businesses in Japan
Proxy-shopping services — companies that ship Japanese products ranging from cosmetics and snacks to limited-edition stationery on behalf of customers abroad — are already feeling the impact of the U.S. suspending de minimis exemptions.
Over 90% of low-income families in Japan struggling to feed children
Save the Children Japan domestic program chief Sonoko Kawakami speaks at a news conference in Tokyo in July. A survey conducted by the group in June has found that over 90% of low-income households with children face food insecurity.
Struggling train firm in Chiba Prefecture turns to self-deprecating humor
"Laughter is important when you're in a difficult situation," said Katsunori Takemoto, president of Choshi Electric Railway, on Aug. 5 in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture.
Japan’s front-line researchers see bright path ahead for dementia treatment
A scientist looks at scans of grains at the Memory Centre at the Department of Readaptation and Geriatrics of the University Hospital (HUG) in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 6, 2023.
Still plenty to fight for, says Japan’s team leader at worlds
Race walker Hayato Katsuki earned bronze for Japan on the opening day of the World Athletics Championships on Saturday.
Wealthy foreign nationals picking up ultimate souvenir — a condo in Tokyo
A high-end property in the fashionable Daikanyama district in Tokyo
Japanese athletes inspired by raucous home fans at World Athletics Championships
Fans cheer on the home favorites during the women's marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Sunday.
Japan's major art events converge this fall
Shinji Ohmaki’s “Tokinokage” exhibited at Fuji Textile Week 2021 shows the use of fabric as art.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 6th annual Sustainable Japan Award.

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER