Category: Theater

Kichijoji Theater has disclosed the 2026/27 season line up, and we are delighted to discover that Tadashi Suzuki will be back in Tokyo in December, to direct his famous Cyrano de Bergerac – a tri-lingual experience intertwinining Russian, Chinese and Japanese.
On top of a new play by Tom Project, there will be a great choice of contemporary dance performances, including Baobab in May and Dance Company Arche in August.

Kichijoji Theater Line up
Past releases about Cyrano
Tokyo and Kanto public theaters season 2026/27

 

Not only does YPAM (Yokohama International Performing Arts Meeting) change its temporality, moving from a December event to a February event – it also renews its direction. Long term director, Hiromi Maruoka, who has served since 2005, when it was still the TPAM, stepped down, effective 31 March 2026. Moving forward, YPAM will operate with its current team under a revised structure, collectively assuming directorial responsibilities and leading operations. We wish a lot of success to the team, with a lot of great individuals, and will be looking forward to the next edition in February 2027, which will for sure be as successful and exciting as the December 2024 and December 2025 editions.

■ YPAM Secretariat

Katsuhiro Ohira (Secretary General) / Tomoyuki Arai (Senior Program Officer) / Ryo Tanaka (Program Officer) / Hayato Okada (Program Officer) / Shiro Amemiya (Public Relations) / Felicity Chao (Public Relations) / Kimiko Arai (Operations & Systems Manager)

■ Next edition: YPAM2027

Friday, 5 February – Sunday, 14 February 2027

About YPAM

YPAM (Yokohama International Performing Arts Meeting) is a platform where performing arts professionals from around the world connect through performances and meeting programs to gain information, inspiration, and networks for the creation, dissemination and vitalization of the performing arts. Established in 1995 as TPAM (Tokyo Performing Arts Market) and based in the “Creative City” of Yokohama since 2011, YPAM has become internationally recognized as one of the most influential performing arts platforms in Asia, with over 30 years of history.

For more details

https://ypam.jp/2025/news/newsroom/detail_1775011356.en.html

After Setagata Public theater has released their line up, it is time to publish the highlights of the 2026/2027 season in the greater Tokyo. On top of Noism and Condors, international choregraphers such as Noel Soulier, Anna Teresa de Keersmaeker, Hofesh, will tour Japan, international circus companies from Sweden or Canada will rejoice us, and we will enjoy great theater plays and operas.
The summarized saison 2026/2027 can be found here, with links to the theaters and further details.

The Kara company will perform the 77th representation(s) of the Tin soldier. KARA Juro is a major figure of the theater underground movement of the sixties, and led the trend to perform outside of theaters, on the streets, in public gardens, outside control. He inspired a great number of leading playwrights and directors, including Tadashi SUZUKI or, on the butoh scene, Akaji MARO. As in 1967, the Tin soldier will be played in public gardens and open spaces, in Hanazono shrine (May 15-17, June 6-14), in Zoshigaya (May 23-31), after the Black Tent has moved from Kobe (April 17-18), Okayama (April 25-26) and Mie (May 2-3). All in Japanese, but let us not miss a rare chance to experience this theatrical experience, this taste of the underground sixties, which marked Japan for years, and still has a major influence on the current Tokyo scene.
Booking access here.

Also have a look on a short history of theater in Japan.

This post has nothing to do with Hideka Noda’s The bee, nor with his latest work, Fahrenheit – 320, to be performed in the spring at Geigeki. On Februrary 12th, the first bee of the year appeared on Toshima-ku’s colza flowers. It was Apis cerana, aka 日本蜜蜂, the Japanese species, as opposed to Apis mellifera, aka 西洋蜜蜂, the European common species. The former is less hairy, with a very black abdomen. Let us hope for a spring full of good surprises on Tokyo stages.