This year under the theme "Disrobing theatre," a total of 26 works will be staged 208 times over a period of 30 days. Festival/Tokyo (F/T) is challenging the possibilities of theatre. Along with our presentation of traditional theatre, we have selected works which "disrobes," or removes elements generally considered traditional, or even essential to theatre. No text, no narrative, no actors, no stage nor sets....and so on. Taking away such things may even have the audience to question whether this is "theatre." However this is exactly the intention of the theme - to be able to confront and reflect on the identity of theatre.

Opening this year's festival is "Public Domain" by director Roger Bernat, which may be embodying this year's theme at most. "Theatre is a space for the purpose of assembly," says Bernat. With this premise he has replaced the stage with somewhere a massive number of people assemble - the city of Tokyo. Audiences participate in the performance by moving around the public square of Nishiguchi-Park accordingly to instructions and questions given via headphones. "When this performance played in Spain my friends had refused to participate in anxiety of their privacy being exposed, but I said to them 'I'll refund you your money if you feel embarrassed at any point of the show,' because the purpose is not to emphasize on any individual, but to reveal the underlying patterns and connections within society." "I hear Japan's style of communicating and socializing is quite unique so I am very excited to see what will be exposed from the audience of Tokyo."

Roger Bernat (c) Yohta Kataoka

Director Akira Takyama engages in this "disrobing" using the city of Tokyo as well. For "The Complete Mannual of Evacuation - Tokyo" he will be setting up "evacuation spaces" around each of the 29 stations of the Yamnote Line Train. Takayama describes the Yamanote Line as a symbol of how time runs in Tokyo. It is strict and even when there are accidents stopping the train, it soon gets back on track running right on schedule. "I'm sure most people don't have a problem catching the train and keeping up with Tokyo's time stream, but there are some who can't keep up and miss the train. There's probably even people who are wanting to stop this time stream..or the train. I just wanted to let them take a break and provide a space to evacuate to, like creating a gap in time." Takayama takes theatre to a new level where the drama and story is created from the experience of the audience.

Akira Takayama (c) Yohta Kataoka

Director Norimizu Ameya has announced, "There isn't much that has been determined in terms of what I will be presenting," but he has revealed that this performance is a challenge in his flexibility as a director. This new work, "The shape of me", will feature no script, stage or actors - it will be a month-long "technical" theatre installation. "Well....it's like a parent loving a child, but realizing how much they actually love their child once you lose them.." Through eliminating his loving stage and actors Ameya questions and contemplates on the identity of theatre.

Norimizu Ameya (c) Yohta Kataoka

"I was totally lost." Shiro Maeda, leader of the theater company GOTANNDADAN had rather made an honest "press confession" in this press conference. Maeda has been winning fame from achieving awards and nomination for his productions, novels and scripts. "It's very nice that people have been writing grand things about me and especially this work, but all it is that I simply became lost and confused. I've been working to become accepted and writing only what people wanted. There were times where I worked against my will and times where I just didn't want to do it." Through his journey of getting lost he once again seek the purpose of writing and takes the risk to reveal what he has achieved in this performance "Going On The Way To Get Lost."

Shiro Maeda (c) Yohta Kataoka

Motoi Miura, with his highly recognized text interpretations, has dramatized the texts by Antonin Artaud, in which Artaud intended his work as an attack on theatrical convention. For this performance "――And Then Mr. Artaud," Miura has adopted these texts in means to also pursue and question the identity of the theatre. Masataka Matsuda exposes the memories of the atomic bomb victims with installations in "Hiroshima-Hapcheon: Doubled Cities in Exhibition," and Yujiro Sagami has elderly residents of Hyogo performing on stage to tell a story of their generation in "DRAMATHOLOGY."

Dancer Ikuyo Kuroda and Saburo Teshigawara each "disrobes theatre" with their search for new dramaturgy in dance. Kuroda's dance may be known for being lyrical, emotional, or even frantic, but for this "Ray of light, shards of mirror," she has chosen the theme "mother" and takes it gently and carefully as if it is her own mother. Saburo Teshigawara's "SKINNERS - Dedicated to Evaporating Things" takes György Ligeti's piano music and noise sounds as a temporal axis, and his own lighting design and scenography as a spatial axis.

Ikuyo Kuroda (c) Yohta Kataoka

Along with the performances presented by F/T, eight works will be presented by respective companies in the frame of F/T Emerging Artists Program, and three works performing in the metropolitan area will be co-presented by F/T. Accompanying these performances are the F/T Symposium & F/T Theatrotheque and F/T Station offering a place for learning, discussing, and exchanging.

"Disrobing theatre" is a intrepid challenge where nothing stays within existing frames, but Festival/Tokyo 10 hopes this reflection on the role of theatre will prepare a ground for new possibilities in and evoke public awareness for the importance of art.