One of the greatest frustrations of any theatre fan - or just people looking for entertainment in a foreign land - is not being able fully to appreciate what's happening on stage. If visuals and the thrill of live drama can often cross over language divides, sadly dialogue mostly cannot. However, F/T is a vigorously international affair and this autumn's edition is no different.
Those seeking to learn what's hot in contemporary Japanese theatre writing should definitely check out Shiro Maeda's "Going On The Way To Get Lost", a premiere for the festival. Maeda is an award-winning playwright, director, actor, novelist and leader of the troupe Gotanndadan, and it's indicative of the international attention he's getting now that his new play for F/T is yet another of his to be performed with English surtitles.
If you like engrossing and original characterization, slightly surreal and humorous narratives with poignant and affecting themes - then "Going On The Way To Get Lost" should be top on your list of things to see.
Gotanndadan: "Idai naru seikatsu no bouken"
Much of the other domestic productions will potentially lose some of their impact due to linguistic barriers, though dance is always a safe bet. And when the Japanese dancers descending on F/T this November include the likes of superstar Saburo Teshigawara ("SKINNERS -- Dedicated to Evaporating Things" and acclaimed female choreographer Ikuyo Kuroda ("Ray of light, shards of mirror"), choosing dance is definitely not going to be poor substitute for performances with dialogue.
Ikuyo Kuroda: "Arrows and chains" (c) Yoichi Tsukada
The overseas visiting companies will naturally be very accessible for German (the giant Christoph Marthaler's "Riesenbutzbach: A Permanent Colony") and Spanish-speakers (enfant terrible Rodrigo Garcia's politicized "Versus"), although in particular Marthaler's piece is more musical than verbal and such a star auteur is worthy of attendance whatever your nationality!
Christoph Marthaler: "Riesenbutzbach. A Permanent Colony" (c) Dorothea Wimmer
However, French choreographer Gisele Vienne's "This is how you will disappear" actually employs an English text by American writer Dennis Cooper, and Roger Bernat's innovative and interactive headphone promenade theatre piece "Public Domain" is also available in English.
Gisele Vienne: "This is how you will disappear" (c) Seldon Hunt
As you can see, whatever your level of Japanese, there's still plenty of choice in the F/T program this autumn.
By William Andrews
September 6, 2010