Electric Japan is a season of dance, theatre and visual arts drawn from Japan’s thriving experimental arts scene at The Coronet Theatre, London’s pioneering international theatre, running from 10th May to 11th June 2022.
Appearing alongside the emerging talent showcased in the season, Saburo Teshigawara, Japan’s greatest contemporary choreographer will present the UK premiere of his one-hour distillation of Wagner’sTristan and Isolde from 2nd – 10th June. Teshigawara’s highly charged miniature is set to excerpts from a scratchy recording of the opera, challenging the epic scale of the music. With only himself and partner Rihoko Sato on stage, embodying not just the two lead characters but the supporting cast as well in swirling movement, atmospheric lighting Teshigawara captures the emotional heart of this great drama.
Speaking about the season Anda Winters, Director of the Coronet Theatre, said:
“We are proud that the great Japanese artist Saburo Teshigawara is coming to the Coronet this year. His presence in London is a precious moment for us, as we open up to a world where artists can share their talent on stage with eager audiences once again. At the Coronet we have been privileged to share the work of artists from many parts of the world in our annual programmes. We are delighted to be able to continue our exploration of global cultures with this season focusing on the contemporary arts scene in Japan. I have long been inspired by the culture of Japan. Its ability to innovate and change, whilst retaining the power of its great artistic traditions is unique.”
The season programme is:
MAYUMI HIRATA: JUMP! 10th – 15th May
Acclaimed photographer and documentary artist Mayumi Hirata presents two special photographic projects celebrating Japanese art and culture. Jump! showcases Japanese artists and performers, designers, chefs and even monks – each captured jumping against a backdrop of identifiably classical European settings. The exhibition also captures the work of multi-award winning traditional ‘irezumi’ tattoo artist, Horiren 1st. A range of extraordinarily intricate full and part-body artworks are captured through Hirata’s lens.
FUKIKO TAKASE: SEE ART THROUGH THE BODY 11th May
Dancer and choreographer Fukiko Takase presents See Art Through the Body, in collaboration with Hatis Noit and Meg Shirayama in a highly experimental and playful dance piece, interweaving the movement of Takase, the voice of Noit, and the artwork of Shirayama to create an immersive experience.
DANCE PJ REVO: F/BRIDGE 14th – 15th May
Koichiro Tamura’s (Dance PJ Revo) award-winning work is an experimental cocktail of hip hop dance paired with everyday industrial and urban props such as tyres, bricks, and machine parts. F/BRIDGE pairs a group of skilled dancers with breeze blocks to create new, dynamic, perfectly fused choreography. The blocks become extensions of the dancer’s bodies, utilised in endlessly inventive ways – stacked, swung, carried, stood on and thrown.
KUJIRAI AND OKUYAMA: TRIGGER POINT 18th – 19th May
Butoh or the ‘Dance of Darkness’ is an idiosyncratic and physically demanding dance form. Both trained by eminent Butoh masters, Akaji Maro and Akira Kasai, Barabbas Okuyama collaborates with award-winning choreographer Kentaro Kujirai to present a double bill. Trigger Point – Nature, Okuyama’s solo performance, presents his visceral, contemporary take on Butoh. A Hum San Sui (Scenery of Alpha and Omega), a duet between Kujirai & Okuyama, combining their styles to create a new form of expression through Butoh.
NEY HASEGAWA: UNITED ME 19th – 21st May
Choreographer, director and performer Ney Hasegawa and his collective Fujiyama Annette exist somewhere between Forced Entertainment and Jérôme Bel. Their pieces feature flights of fancy, video projections, daydreams, powerpoint presentations, memories, choreography, music and installation. United Me, an immersive solo work exploring invisibility and the spread of intolerance around the world.
KEI KAGAMI: ENGINEERING COUTURE 23rd May – 11th June
Kei Kagami originally studied architecture as well as tailoring in his native Tokyo, before working at the studio of Japanese architect, Kenzo Tange. In 1989 he travelled to London and worked for John Galliano for three years. He since completed an MA in Fashion Design at Central St Martins, and now shows his conceptual work in museums and galleries internationally. A selection of his works will be on show at the Coronet, showcasing the multidisciplinary skills and conceptual designs which have cemented his place among fashion’s most innovative.
TOMOCO KAWAGUCHI: 4:48 PSYCHOSIS 26th – 27th May
Sarah Kane’s iconic final play, 4.48 Psychosis comes to life in critically acclaimed Japanese director Tomoco Kawaguchi’s experimental punk-rock-opera. Kawaguchi’s radical reinterpretation features a cast of four: a musician, two actors and an opera singer. Including original punk rock music, this ground-breaking production presents Kane’s provocative and poetic masterpiece in a whole new light.
SABURO TESHIGAWARA: TRISTAN AND ISOLDE 2nd – 10th June
Saburo Teshigawara began his unique creative career in 1981 in his native Tokyo after studying visual arts and classical ballet. In 1985, he formed KARAS with Kei Miyata and started group choreography and their own activities. He has been commissioned by many international Ballet companies such as the Paris Opera to create repertoire pieces for the company. He has also received increasing international attention in the visual arts field, with art exhibitions, films/videos as well as designing scenography, lighting and costume for all his performances.
Besides regular workshops at the KARAS studio in Tokyo, Saburo Teshigawara has been involved in many education projects. Since 2014, he has been Professor at the Tama Art University in Tokyo, department of Scenography Design, Drama, and Dance. Through these and other education projects, Saburo Teshigawara continues to encourage and inspire young dancers, alongside making his own creative work. In 2013, he established his own private creative space Karas Apparatus in Ogikubo, Tokyo. He is a recipient of numerous awards and honours in Japan and abroad, including a Bessie Award in 2007, the Medal of Honor awarded by the Emperor of Japan in 2009 and in 2017 he was made an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters in France.
Electric Japan 10th May – 11th June 2022 The Coronet Theatre, 103 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3LB MORE INFO & TICKETS thecoronettheatre.com
Presented with the support of Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation and the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.
