Gekidan Sports’ stage play “Ryakushiki: Hawaii” will be performed at OFF/OFF Theater in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo, from Wednesday, May 15 to Sunday, May 19.
The concept of the theater company Sports, which was launched in 2016, is “a short break to confront or temporarily turn away from the fear of ‘dying someday’ that we cannot escape”. The company creates comedies that portray the unconscious weakness of people who fear change and seek stability with a sense of humor, and aims to create works that gently stand by those who do not have the courage to take a new step forward.
The show, the first new work by the theater company Sports in two years, is a major remake of “Ryakushiki: Hawaii” which was performed in 2017. It is a “coming-of-age memory falsification comedy” that focuses on the relationship between Yamato and Hasu, who meet at a rural high school, and in search of a world that could have been, Yamato redoes his past. The play is written and directed by Masafumi Uchida. In addition to Uchida, the cast includes Michihiro Tajima, Ren Takeuchi, Saho Takeda, Emi Tanaka, Teppei Migikiki (PA-MAN), and Shiori Hata (Nankyoku Godzilla).
【Comment from Michihiro Tajima, the leader of the theater company】
This production is a remake of the piece “Ryakushiki: Hawaii” which was performed seven years ago, and is no longer in its original form. In the previous production, three bicycles were set up on the stage, and we had to pedal them in order to turn on the lights. The theme of this album is the same, but rather than shedding light on the “past that was,” it shines a light on the “past that was not.
At my old part-time job, there was an old man who told me that he was drinking friends with Inaba from B’z, and that he sometimes provided ideas to Inaba for lyrics. I often found myself alone with this old man on the way home from my part-time job, and while the roar of the subway echoed inside the Keio Shinsen Line, he repeated this story over and over again, although I couldn’t hear it very well. Seven years later, I often look back on the man I hated so much and wonder if he’s doing well.
If history can be falsified through politics and power, it should be easy for us to go to Hawaii with you. Even without a story, I would be happy to fly off into the everlasting summer sea with my tightrope delusions and meaningless aerial combat.
