Tokyo stages and live arts, theatre and biodiversity
On November 22, SSDW 2025 will launch. Yoyogi Koen will be the theatre of street dance contests, breaking contests and battle parks, a thrilling experience for both young and less young ones. To be noted, candidates can register for some competitions until November 19, but the website seems to be very Japanese.
https://streetdanceweek.jp/
From November 20 to 24. Written by Japanese/American playwright and performer Aya Ogawa, this works written and performed in English has been created in New York in 2021 and toured the US before being presented in Tokyo. It is a story about failures, and broken relationships, with comical feature. Subtitled in Japanese. A great opportunity to see an American/Japanese play in English in one of Tokyo major theatres. Aya Ogawa started writing around 2003 and her bibliography counts over 10 works, from Serendipity to the Meat Suit, including a revisited Ophelia. A director, writer and actor, keen on decentering classical works from the male point of view, Aya Ogawa has also translated theater, including works from Toshiki Okada and Sakate, major names in the contemporary Japanese scene.
https://www.nntt.jac.go.jp/english/productions/drama/the-nosebleed.html
And all recommended shows from October to December
On November 14/16, butoh meets pro-wrestling in an old factory in Sumida-ku. Butoh dancers Emiko Agatsuma and Tomoshi Shioya share a choregraphy with wrestlers. This session inscribes itself in the Hokusai butoh series in Sumida-ku, Tokyo, which already featured such butoh dancers as Wakaba and Kana Kitty.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeVHRY9hswm3iUpiXQOvKcN7K_igS_pKYROBWSFfzKsqKz26A/viewform
On October 1st, YPAM program was released, with its 3 main branches, YPAM Fringe, YPAM Direction and Yokohama Dance Collection. Some plays and shows stand out, among the many offerings – some related to witches and ghosts, and all the below plays are available with English surtitles, accessible to non Japanese speakers. Below are 8 interesting theater plays with English surtitles or in English, and one Circus performance.
Full model change, a dark comedy exploring life in a competitive society where happiness is a measurable commodity, everyone being forced to chase their own “happiness score.”, Nov.28-30, Theater, English sub.
The game, for chess lovers and haters – At Cafe Pawn, regular customers are always playing chess.One day, a married couple comes in.After her husband breaks up with her, the wife becomes addicted to chess, Dec. 3-7, Theater, English sub.
Dadda, Inspired by Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s “The Spider’s Thread,” this work delves into the essence of circus as an art of limits: gravity, centrifugal force, precarious balance, and circular motion. Circus, Dec. 5-7
Radiant / Three thousand, based on Dylan Thomas “And Death Shall Have No Dominion” and Nankichi Niimi “Hikaru”, this theatrical work reflects on life and death, and the long, radiant, and vanishing flow of time that leads to the present, Dec 6-21, English/Japanese and Engl.subtitles
Mr. Day Dreamer Hamlet Machine, based on Heiner Mueller incredible work, Dec.7-9, Japanese with English sub.
The Ego and His Loss, inspired by a real event, tells the tragedy which develops between an immigrant Vietnamese woman and a man who was a victim of the frozen era, not having found a permanent job when the bubble burst. By a company based in Osaka. Dec.8-9, Japanese with English surtitles.
No one’s rite based on Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, which captures the disturbing frenzy and irrational outcomes of the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts, this play takes place in the meeting room of a video production company. Four “female” employees engage in seemingly cheerful yet deeply insular conversations, Dec 11-14, Japanese, English sub.
The Japanese rite of meeting a ghost, will conduct a traditional Japanese ritual of spirit invocation. “Genzo” is a theatrical series dedicated to exploring expressions of fear on stage. This production will be performed in English, Dec 12-14
Zazi-Zoo Contemporary Counterfeit Theater, a new performance by the energetic Zazi.Zoo energetic and passionate theatre collective from Tokyo, an experience in an intimate transformed garage, in Yokohama, with English surtitles.
Girls Double Bill “Which Witch” & “MAMA”, from a theater series exploring the theme of female metamorphosis. ‘MAMA’ depicts the issues and myths surrounding modern mother-daughter relationships using the form of Noh theater. ‘Which Witch’ dramatizes the metamorphosis of women in medieval European witch hunts and modern Japanese capitalist society in a picnic-style. Dec 13-14, in Japanese only.
Dance pieces to be screened later ! And do not forget to look for free performances, on-the-spot shows and various installations.
Other spectacles in the last quarter of 2025 : Tokyo stages from October to December
Through the Aichi Triennale, a number of performances will take place in Nagoya from September to November. In particular the following works caught my attention : Paradise rumour by Black Grace, a Samoan and Pacific Island dance troupe, September 13-15, Brain by the group Taihen, a commissionned contemporary dance work about AI and the body, September 26-28, and in November Bird, dance and performance where birds join the scene, My body my archive, a contemporary dance project and performance questioning the violence of history, from a choregrapher based in Congo, in English with Japanese subtitles. Special distinction in the field of theatre accessible to English speakers (and readers), from November 22 to 24, Human Pavilion, a comedy, around discrimination and Okinawa colonization, which got the Kishida Kunio award. Other works like Eternal labor tackle forced labor in Japan and Korea (October 10-19), and there is even a musical performance in Ainu in Seto city. If you happen to be in Nagoya, do not miss this chance. To be noted, child care service is offered, and the tickets are very affordable.
Some insight on Human pavilion, by Chinen Seishin
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210220/p2a/00m/0na/027000c
Tokyo stages and live arts, theatre and biodiversity