Amayadori’s stage play “A Doll’s House gekironban / shissoban” will be performed from March 15 (Fri.) to 24 (Sun.) at Theater Fushikakaden in Mejiro, Tokyo.
Amayadori was formed in 2001 as “Hyottoko Ranbu” and changed its name to the current one in 2012. The company’s activities are centered on original plays by Junichi Hirota, with a “flexible dramatic language” that covers everything from contemporary colloquialism to prose poetry, and a “flexible physicality” that incorporates elements of music and dance, such as clapping and group dancing.
In this performance, based on “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen, two versions will be presented: a “gekironban” version that focuses on conversation and a “shissoban” version that focuses on the body. Junichi Hirota will compose and direct the production. The performers of the “gekironban” are Madoka Tokukura, Daisuke Kurata, Yukiko Otsuka, Yuma Miyazaki, Sayaka Nakamura (above, Amayadori), and Taisuke Nishimoto. The performers of “shissoban” are Seima Numata, Yukie Ichikawa, Asuka Miyagawa, Kazuyuki Tsutsumi, Rina Hoshino, Kanjo Inagaki, Riko Aiba (above, Amayadori), Sakura Tominaga, Kina Yuki, and Emi Murayama.
Check the official website for the schedule and tickets for each performance.
Junichi Hirota’s comment
Amayadori is finally going to tackle “A Doll’s House” as its fourth Ibsen production. I have been working on it as if it were a classic by Ibsen, without any flirtation with other writers. If you ask me what I like so much about Ibsen, the complexity and richness of his characters is overwhelming. As in my previous work, “The Wild Duck” there are many complex, unpleasant, cheating, jealous, lying, and mean-spirited people, from young men and women to middle-aged people, mature people, old people, and even young girls. They all have their own aesthetics and ideals that they pursue, but they all have their limits. I think the true essence of Ibsen’s work is that it makes us think, “Ah, there are human beings.
Actually, there was a plan to do “A Doll’s House” many years ago, but I have avoided it until now because I thought it would lose out on the title. I thought it would lose out on the title. It is well-known. Now, after working on several Ibsen films, I think we have found our own methodology and a breakthrough, so I think the time has come for us to take on this challenge. That’s how I feel. I think the time has come for us to take on this challenge. There is no doubt that this is an interesting work. It is a masterpiece by a genius.
In the “gekironban”” version, I will keep the form of the original work, but trim the words a lot to make it a solid drama, and I hope to show you a conversational drama like a martial arts match that makes the most of the potential of Ibsen’s play. In the “shissoban” version, I will boldly reconstruct the play, relying on the actors’ bodies, and hope to show the doll’s house as a flashback to a nightmare like a flickering illumination, in other words, the happiness of a lost family, a crumbling dream of modern times. One or the other, of course, or both. We look forward to seeing you there.
