Finding plays for non Japanese speakers is not an easy task. There is no full time professional scene, and no single point of information. The offer is divided in 3 main categories : semi-professional and amateur troupes acting in English or French, including stand up comedy, foreign troupes coming to Japan and performing in their language in public theatres or international festivals, and finally plays in Japanese with English subtitles (or synopsis). Just looking at festivals, you could be in Shizuoka in late April-early May, Tokyo in September, then Kyoto in October, and Yokohama in December. It is also a great way to travel, and do some sightseeing with a purpose.
Festivals, English/French friendly
- World Theatre Festival Shizuoka always feature troupes from abroad, as well as plays in Japanese with subtitles. At least every other year, there is a French speaking troupe/play, for instance in 2022, 2023, and again in 2025. In 2024 the Berlin Schaubuehne was performing in German.
The festival is held over the Golden Week, from end April to early May, including a free fringe festival around Grampus castle. Official program usually announced in February/March.
https://festival-shizuoka.jp/en/ - Tokyo Festival. Organized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater, with the support of Toshima-ku, it features plays with English subtitles, like Toshiki Okada latest work in 2024. It takes place in September.
https://tokyo-festival.jp/en/ - Yokohama International Performing Arts Meeting, from end November to Mid December, proposes some theatre plays in English or other languages, some plays with subtitles, and various performances.
https://ypam.jp/program/ - Tokyo Performing Arts Festival, aka TominFes, spreads from late January to late March. It gathers a number of spectacles and locations, from traditional and folk Japanese dance to theatre, including opera, kabuki, and classical music. Tokyo inhabitants can join until the first week of December a lottery, a number of places being available for free. A lot of events include English subtitles or support.
https://tomin-fes.com/index.html - Kyoto Experiment, spread over October, offers plays surtitled in English, and sometimes invites comedians from abroad. There is regularly contemporary dancers from overseas (in 2024, Christian Rizzo, Mathilde Monnier or La Horde.
https://kyoto-ex.jp/en/
English speaking companies, theatre and comedy
- Sheepdog Theatre, about 2 plays per year in Tokyo
https://sheepdogtheatre.com/en/about - Blackstripe Theatre, about 1 play/year, and workshops
https://blackstripetheater.com/ - Tokyo International Players, about 1 play/year, and workshops
https://www.tokyoplayers.org/currentseason - Theatre Iridescence, Nagoya based, about 1 play/year
https://theatreiridescence.com/ - Tokyo Comedy Bar, stand up in Shibuya, all week long
https://www.tokyocomedybar.com/ - Tokyo Comedy Store, impro in Shibuya, 1/week, and workshops
https://www.improvazilla.com/ - Pirates of Tokyo Bay, impro in Ebisu, bilingual, 1/month
https://www.piratesoftokyobay.com/info#about
French groups and improvisation
- Fuji Scene Francophone. A play per year or every other year
http://fujiscenefrancophone.web.fc2.com/page-fr1.html - ImproTokyo, by Thomas Sagnard. About one show per quarter. Weekly workshops.
https://www.instagram.com › thomassagnard - Ateliers Café Gare de Lyon by Sophie Mathieu. A couple of shows per year, including plays, scenes, and improvisation. Weekly workshops.
https://www.instagram.com › ateliercafegaredelyon
Japanese National theatres with bilingual plays
All the below theatres sometime feature either plays from foreign troupes, or have some plays with subtitles. It is unfortunaly quite difficult to navigate, as they do not specially target foreign audience, but rather Japanese interested in other ways of plays. In the blog, we will make our best efforts to spot and advertise such plays. For websites, see on our special page for listing the theatres in Japan.
- Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre
- New National Theatre Tokyo
- Theatre Rohm (Kyoto)
As you have found an attractive show, you need to book a ticket, and this can be tricky. New National Theatre Tokyo is very easy to book, and English-friendly, however other venues can be complicated. You often need an account with either the theater or a ticketing company such as ticket Pia or Piagetti. There is sometimes an English ticketing option, but it could be that there are some availabilities on one Japanese ticketing website and not on the English one. And it can happen than the theatre website and the company website have different and non transferable quotas for tickets. It is always worth to give a phone call or send an email – even in English to check the situation.
As an example, in the latest Sankai Juku show performed at Setagaya Public Theater, the Theater ticket office showed complete (there was no ticket for sales anymore) where there were still many tickets directly available with the dance company.
Tokyo stages and live arts, theatre and biodiversity 