• Winner of the Kishida Kunio Drama Award

    Yudai Kamisato / Okazaki Art Theatre

    “The Story of Descending the Long Slopes of Valparaíso” 

    TOKYO performance

    Date: 21st – 25th, August 2019
    Venue: Goethe-Institut Tokyo
    *Language: Spanish (with English and Japanese subtitles)

    The story of people who came to scatter the ashes of a deceased husband/father over the sea
    The story of people who crossed the Pacific in the distant past
    The story of a solar eclipse observed in Paraguay
    The story of one man who is still digging up the bones of war dead in Okinawa
    And another who runs a bar in Ogasawara
    A work of "theater as messenger" interweaving episodes Kamisato collected by himself in his travels in Oceania, Ogasawara, the Ryukyu Islands, and Latin America.
    Having established his own theatrical language while attracting attention in literary circles too, Kamisato cuts open the history of "migration" in this new work.

    The story was woven by Kamisato from his experiences traveling to various parts of South America during an 11-month stay in Argentina. It is performed by the Argentine actors and dancers he encountered, and Eduard Fukushima, a dancer of who was born into a family of Japanese immigrants in Brazil and has come into the limelight in Europe as well. Coming from the opposite side of the earth, they tell the story of the play in their own words.

     

    The jumbled, atypical space of the seating area, which contains a bunk bed, church, and even stalls, was designed by the architectural unit dot architects. The stage is given a phantasmic coloring by the backdrop, which was designed by Midori Hirota of Kantaro, a sign company. In the context of these weird match-ups, the members of the audience freely find a place for viewing the play.

     

    Comment from Yudai Kamisato

     

    " Of the various functions theater has, I have a keen interest in that of "reporting". One person speaks words that he said he heard from another, and yet another person listens. You imagine the person that is the subject of this hearsay, and it affects your own speech and behavior. As I see it, this cyclic chain of reporting is at the very roots of theater.
    The characters in this work are messaging each other. These messages become layered and deliver the entire play to the audience as one big hearsay report. It is the story of migration - a migration not only from one land to another but also from life to death, and from death to life. The sedimented layers of migrations are carried on and make history. In short, the work is this kind of "reporting" play. "

     

    Comments on the reason for Kamisato's selection for the Kishida Kunio Drama Award

     

    " Born in South America, Kamisato creates an unparalleled world reflecting his unique background, through plays that only he could write. "
    - Hideki Noda

     

    " A sphere of interest is not limited to national borders. Although it is not necessarily physically difficult to do, few put this into practice. Kamisato is one of the practitioners. He is one of those who can open up the Japanese language and theater performed in it. He writes in a way that breathes new life into the Japanese language and Japan. "
    - Toshiki Okada

  • DATE / TICKET

    DATE

    Schedule:
    8/21 Wed. 19:30
    8/22 Thu. 19:30
    8/23 Fri. 14:00 / 19:30
    8/24 Sat. 13:00 / 18:00
    8/25 Sun. 14:00
    Post-performance talk (in Japanese)

    Guest: Alberto Shiroma (DIAMANTES)


    *Language: Spanish (with English and Japanese subtitles)

    TICKET INFORMATION

    Tickets:
    Adults(Weekend): ¥4,000 (Weekday): ¥3,500
    Student: ¥2,800
    At the door: +¥500


    Book now!

  • Goethe-Institut Tokyo

    7-5-56 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052, Japan 7min. From, Aoyama 1-chome St. Exit 4 (Ginza, Hanzomon, Ōedo Line)

  • CAST

    from Argentina and Brazil!

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    Martin Tchira

    Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1981. Dedicating himself to acting since his childhood, Tchira works actively in theater and cinema. Studied dramaturgy and screenplay, he engages himself in research on the theater of Tadeusz Kantor with director Marcos Rosenzvaig and has been participated in lectures by the philosophers Leon Rozitchner, Jacques Ranciere and Alain Badiou as well. Tchira works with theatre directors such as Cristina Banegas, Ricardo Bartis and Federico León among others. He premiered his short film Madison as director that participated in the festivals Cine Inusual de Buenos Aires and International Festival of Tarapacá.

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    Martin Piroyansky

    Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1986. He started acting on TV at the age of 12 and has performed in several plays with a theatre company “GRUPO SAN-GUÍNEO”. When he was 19 he started acting in feature films and a few years later he directed a short film called No me ama that was highly acclaimed. After that he directed two feature films, the last one is called VOLEY. Recently Piroyansky premiered a web series called El Galan de Venecia and now he is working on his next movie.

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    Marina Sarmiento

    Born in Córdoba, Argentina in 1979. Performer, dancer, choreographer, director and teacher. Degree in Social Work, Córdoba National University. Dance specialization, choreographic production analysis at La Plata National University. She investigates in dance, theatre, experimental sound, visuals and performance. In addition to present her own choreo-graphic works, she engages herself in collaboration works with artists in Latin America. She also teaches
    yoga, perception and creation giving the experimental workshop “FUERA DEL TIEMPO”. She writes and presents her creation processes in academic and independent spaces.

     

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    Eduardo Fukushima

    Born in Sao Paolo, Brazil in 1984. choreographer, dancer and teacher. Graduated in dance at the course “Communication and Body Arts” at Ponticificia University Catholic of Sao Paulo. Since 2004 Fukushima has received various awards for his solo works and with the Prize Rolex Mentor & Protègè Arts Initiative 2012/2013 he spent a year in Taiwan under the supervision of Lin Hwai-min, the artistic director of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre. He has been invited to international festivals and projects to perform his works in South America, Europe, Canada and Taiwan. Currently he is in creation process of his new work, with the residency at theatres in Germany and in Brazil, that will be premiered in 2017. He teaches Tai chi and dance since 2009.

  • CREDIT

    Playwright and Direction: Yudai Kamisato
    Set design: dot architects, Midori Hirota

     

    Performers: Martín Tchira, Martín Piroyansky, Marina Sarmiento, Eduardo Fukushima

     

    Dramaturge: Masashi Nomura
    Translation: Gonzalo Robledo

    Costumes: Chie Ohno

    Lighting: Ryoya Fudetani
    Sound: Bunsho Nishikawa
    Stage manager: Ayumu Okubo (KWAT)
    English surtitle translation: Aya Ogawa
    Japanese subtitle:Yoko Kawasaki, Masashi Nomura, Yudai Kamisato

    Production: Kyoto Experiment

     

    Publicity design: Kento Yoshida (bank to LLC.)

    Stage photo: Yoshikazu Inoue

    Planning & Production Management: precog co.,LTD.

     

    Presented by Okazaki Art Theatre, precog co.,LTD.
    Associated with Goethe-Institut Tokyo

    Under the auspices of The Embassy of the Republic of Argentine
    Supported by Japan Arts Fund, Arts Council Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture)