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▼ Enormous Elderly Ensemble is Ninagawa’s Legacy
- Category:Event
A cast of about 1,600 mainly elderly performers will appear in a play at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama on Dec. 7.
Titled “Ichimannin no Gold Theater 2016 ‘Kiniro Kokyokyoku — Watashi no Yume, Kimi no Yume’ based on Romeo and Juliet” (The Gold Symphony — my dream, your dream — based on Romeo and Juliet), the play was first conceived by late theater director Yukio Ninagawa. The hundreds of elderly people, including many with no experience in theater, are part of a cast unprecedented in its size.
During a rehearsal at the Saitama Arts Theater in Saitama on Nov. 9, one performer after another grabbed the mic and spoke about their dreams.
“My dream is to sing on stage with a live band like a [pro] vocalist,” said one cast member.
“I want to look at the moon from space and die in spectacular fashion,” said another.
Each performer was greeted by thunderous applause from their fellow cast members.
The performers are 60 or older. The oldest are 91. Apart from age and the ability to come to rehearsals, there were hardly any restrictions on applying for membership in the company. The performers come from all walks of life and include people living in the United States and those suffering from dementia. About 70 percent are women.
Masao Oka and his wife come to rehearsals from Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture. They take the first train in the morning to arrive on time and return to Tsuruoka on the last train.
“The script is great — it’s like a paean to humanity. [Taking part in the production] gives me energy. Coming to rehearsals is not tough at all,” Oka, 73, said.
Taneo Kato, the executive director of the Association for Corporate Support of the Arts, jump-started the current project two years ago when he told Ninagawa that he would like to offer the elderly more opportunities and create a new model for the aging society. Kato had been impressed by the Saitama Gold Theater, a theater company for the elderly that Ninagawa founded in 2006 while artistic director of the Saitama Arts Theater.
The project soon kicked off under the theme “Dreams of the elderly.” Ninagawa was enthusiastic about the plan, but his health deteriorated and he died in May this year. The baton has now passed to up-and-coming director Seiji Nozoe, who wrote the script.
Nozoe, leader of the Haegiwa theater company, has toured facilities for the elderly to put on performances.
“Even elderly homes have their share of romances. Age doesn’t matter when it comes to the intense human feelings involved in caring about someone,” he said.
His upcoming play begins with an old man speaking about his dream before developing into “Romeo and Juliet,” the Shakespearean tragedy about doomed love between a boy and a girl.
The Saitama prefectural government and the Saitama Arts Theater — the show’s organizers — have faced unprecedented challenges in preparing for the production. Performers selected from the applicants were gathered from across the country and divided into groups before each group began rehearsals in July. When the entire cast gathered in September for a general rehearsal at a gym, the organizers had to hire five buses to transport them all.
Many of the Saitama Gold Theater’s 38 members will join the performance, as will Katsumi Kiba and other actors who have appeared in theatrical productions directed by Ninagawa. The cast also includes Komadori Shimai, a veteran twin singing unit that has appeared in Ninagawa’s production of “Hamlet.”
The prefectural government is planning to stage sequels in 2018 and 2020.
The performance will take place at the Saitama Super Arena on Dec. 7. For more information, visit www.saf.or.jp/stages/detail/3773/
Masao Oka and his wife come to rehearsals from Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture. They take the first train in the morning to arrive on time and return to Tsuruoka on the last train.
“The script is great — it’s like a paean to humanity. [Taking part in the production] gives me energy. Coming to rehearsals is not tough at all,” Oka, 73, said.
Taneo Kato, the executive director of the Association for Corporate Support of the Arts, jump-started the current project two years ago when he told Ninagawa that he would like to offer the elderly more opportunities and create a new model for the aging society. Kato had been impressed by the Saitama Gold Theater, a theater company for the elderly that Ninagawa founded in 2006 while artistic director of the Saitama Arts Theater.
The project soon kicked off under the theme “Dreams of the elderly.” Ninagawa was enthusiastic about the plan, but his health deteriorated and he died in May this year. The baton has now passed to up-and-coming director Seiji Nozoe, who wrote the script.
Nozoe, leader of the Haegiwa theater company, has toured facilities for the elderly to put on performances.
“Even elderly homes have their share of romances. Age doesn’t matter when it comes to the intense human feelings involved in caring about someone,” he said.
His upcoming play begins with an old man speaking about his dream before developing into “Romeo and Juliet,” the Shakespearean tragedy about doomed love between a boy and a girl.
The Saitama prefectural government and the Saitama Arts Theater — the show’s organizers — have faced unprecedented challenges in preparing for the production. Performers selected from the applicants were gathered from across the country and divided into groups before each group began rehearsals in July. When the entire cast gathered in September for a general rehearsal at a gym, the organizers had to hire five buses to transport them all.
Many of the Saitama Gold Theater’s 38 members will join the performance, as will Katsumi Kiba and other actors who have appeared in theatrical productions directed by Ninagawa. The cast also includes Komadori Shimai, a veteran twin singing unit that has appeared in Ninagawa’s production of “Hamlet.”
The prefectural government is planning to stage sequels in 2018 and 2020.
The performance will take place at the Saitama Super Arena on Dec. 7. For more information, visit www.saf.or.jp/stages/detail/3773/
- December 5, 2016
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