Contemporary Theatre, Live Art

Type of activity: performance, workshop
Available to travel: anywhere (based in London)
Age range: 8+
Number of participants: 1-10

1 Clyde Circus
Tottenham
London
N15 4LF

tel: 07905 345907
or: 020 8802 9839

Email: khohki@macunlimited.net
Website: www.kazukohohki.com

Employment History

2001 – Present: Artistic Associate

Kazuko is currently an Associate Artist of Battersea Arts Centre and an Associate Artist of Duckie.  She is also a Patron of Arts Depot .

1982 – Present: Theatre & Live Art – Artist, Performer & Writer

Kazuko founded the Japanese female pop performance group Frank Chickens in 1982.  The Frank Chickens had an independent chart hit with We are Ninja, has released 5 albums and have toured world wide including tours to Japan, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Russia and Europe. The group has expanded to 16 members, and has been actively performing, including regular appearances with Duckie at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, the Shunt Vaults and recently performed at the Royal Opera House as part of Chinatown Arts Space’s Circle Festival, West End Live in London’s Leicester Square, Japan Matsuri in London 2009 and Stewart Lee’s Silver Stewbilee at Edinburgh Festival Theatre in 2010. 

Between 1998 and 2002 Kazuko made a trilogy of solo theatre performances, which explored her position as a Japanese woman and artist living in England.  The first in the trilogy, the multimedia show Toothless (1998) was based on the death of her mother to mouth cancer. The show was Time Out’s Critics’ Choice and toured the UK, Japan, Switzerland and Germany. Kazuko’s second piece The Shining Princess (1999) was commissioned by Liverpool’s Bluecoat Arts Centre, toured the UK and has since been adapted as a radio play for the BBC.  The final piece in this trilogy was multimedia show My Husband is a Spaceman, first presented at BAC in London, it has since toured throughout the UK, internationally to Germany, Slovenia, Belgium, USA, Canada and Singapore, and has also been presented as part of the Decibel Showcase, British Council Edinburgh Showcase and Festival of Firsts at the Royal Opera House.

Kazuko’s other shows include Evidence for the Existence of Borrowers, created in collaboration with Artists Andy Cox and Mervyn Millar, it is a touring site-specific installation based performance, co-commissioned by MAC and BAC.  In 2005 it was presented at both the Decibel and British Council Showcases, and was awarded a Herald Angel and Total Theatre Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 2005.  In 2006 & 2007 Kazuko made a site responsive promenade production for out door spaces – Oh Doh, commissioned by Chelsea Theatre and presented along the Kings Road in Chelsea, London in January, February and June 2007.  In the same year, Kazuko also created and toured Kazuko Hohki’s Wuthering Heights, co-commissioned by BAC, Birmingham Repertory Theatre and Farnham Maltings.  Inspired by Emily Bronte’s classic novel it was created specifically for presentation in rural venues.  Also in 2007, as a culmination of a Personal Development project exploring her practice as a Director for performance, Kazuko directed Ignorance Is at the Chelsea Theatre.

Kazuko is currently developing 5 new productions for presentation in 2011 – Pathological Happiness, commissioned by Yellow Earth Theatre and was presented at Soho Theatre in Autumn 2008, Last Night I Dreamed I was an Eskimo, commissioned Nordland Visual Theatre, Norway which was presented in Norway in 2010 and will be presented in UK in 2011. The Great Escape  (A Borrowers tale), a new site responsive promenade performance and installation for children which is going to be BAC ( Battersea Arts Centre)’s Christmas show in 2010 running for 5 weeks, and Incontinental,  the show about  incontinence funded by Wellcome trust and was shown as work in progress at UCH in 2010.

As a Theatre and Live Artist Kazuko has also collaborated and performed with a number of other companies and artists including Yellow Earth Theatre, Ridiculusmus and Jonathan Stone.  In 2003 Kazuko collaborated with Guillermo Gomez-Pena at the Tate Modern in London as part of Live Culture, with Home Live Art between 2004-2006, she regularly performs with Duckie in Olivier Award winning C’est Duckie (including recent performances at the Barbican Centre, Sydney Opera House and festivals in New York, Tokyo and Greece), Ms High Leg Kick’s Fashion Bus which was presented at British Council showcase in Edinburgh in 2009 and with The Clod Ensemble on their promenade production The Red Ladies (including recent performances at the ICA London and on tour nationally).

1998 – Present: Digital Artist

Kazuko has made film work and collaborated with Award winning filmmaker Tim Hope to create animation for her productions of Toothless and The Shining Princess.  Kazuko created digital animation and video work for her 2001 solo show My Husband is a Spaceman and for Evidence for the Existence of Borrowers.  She also worked with interactive digital media company Kibook to create a CD-Rom based on My Husband is a Spaceman.  Kazuko has also worked with Yellow Earth Theatre as a video artist, including their production Lear’s Daughters.

2005 – Present: Theatre Director

Kazuko has recently been developing her directing practice, directing Man Band by BRIAN, Ignorance Is by Thomas Bowtell and directing development projects at the Young Vic, Contact Theatre & BAC.

1998 – 2004: Radio – Writer & Performer

Kazuko was invited to participate in Sparks – BBC Radio’s new writers group in January 2004, contributed a script to the Mapping Earth programme on Radio 4, produced by Pam Marshall.  Her first full-length radio drama S was broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s The Wire in December 2004, and has been subsequently repeated.  As a performer Kazuko has performed in a number of radio stories and plays including for the BBC, in 1998 As I Crossed A Bridge Of Dreams, and in 1999 Frog Spring Jazz and Over The Horizon.

1994 – Present: Literature – Writer

Kazuko has published 4 books in Japan on her life in London: London no Yukasita (London Underfloor World), published in 1994 London Kaikai (London Joy Joy) in 1996, Deep London in 1998 and Igirisu Jin Wa Tsurai Yo in February 2000.  Kazuko’s writings and drawings are also included in the contemporary writer’s anthology Velocity.

1989 – 1999: Film & TV – Documentary Maker, TV Presenter & Featured Artist

Directed by Kim Longinotto, Kazuko made a documentary feature The Good Wife of Tokyo for Channel 4 about Japanese contemporary women, featuring Frank Chickens and her mother.  The film was shown on Channel 4 TV (1993) and also at various international film festivals.  Kazuko presented her own TV series Kazuko’s Karaoke Klub for Channel 4 in 1989.  She also founded Japanese American Toy Theatre of London, and with Andrew Brenner made James Bonk And Mat Black Finger for Channel 4 in 1989.  Kazuko made a short film My Husband is a Spaceman, directed by Rachel Davies, for Per4mance a 3-minute series of Performance Art for Channel 4, which was broadcast in September 1999.

1982 – Present: Musician & Singer

Kazuko founded the Japanese female pop performance group Frank Chickens in 1982.  The Frank Chickens had an independent chart hit with We are Ninja, has released 5 albums and have toured world wide including tours to Japan, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Russia and Europe. The group has expanded to 6 members, and has been actively performing, including regular appearances with Duckie at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, the Shunt Vaults and recently performed at the Royal Opera House as part of Chinatown Arts Space’s Circle Festival and at West End Liver in London’s Leicester Square.  With Steve Beresford and his piano orchestra, Kazuko has also made two solo albums, – Kazuko Hohki: Chante Brigitte Bardot and Love in Rainy Days.