The Japan Society Review

Co-directed by Maria Oshodi & Kumiko Mendl, written by Glen Neath Flight Paths brings together two pioneering theatre companies, Extant and Yellow Earth Theatre. Amelia and Sarah step onto the set, a flight departure lounge. Have they arrived from Japan? They seem to [...] Review by Susan Meehan

Directed by Indhu Rubasingham, written by Francis Turnly What at first appears to be a conventional family drama, soon develops into something of global significance in Japanese-Northern Irish playwright Francis Turnly’s latest work for the stage. The play begins [...] Review by Poppy Cosyns

By Rouge 28 Theatre A music box plays in an empty room; the only furniture a dresser with television, a mirror and a box of children’s toys on the floor. Suddenly the music is interrupted by a child’s voice calling ‘Mama’. It becomes [...] Review by Heidi Potter

Performed by Katsura Sunshine Rakugo (meaning “fallen words”) is one of the Japanese performance traditions we are fortunate enough to experience today, as a result of an unbroken chain of teaching that stretches back at least to the 18th [...] Review by Alex Rees

Directed by Suzuki Atsuto 37-year old university friends Sunako and Nachi are working out in a gym in Tokyo, lamenting to grow old without a love interest. Youthful Sunako is paying huge amounts of money for a range of beauty [...] Review by Susan Meehan

At the beginning of After Hiroshima British soldiers come across the ruined city, four months after the dropping of the bomb. One soldier recounts the harrowing experience, of the shadows burnt into the [...] Review by Annabelle Sami

By Suzuki Atsuto What to do when the dolphin you are ‘keeping’ in a fish tank at home ‘evolves’ – introducing himself as meat-eating Putin, born to parents from the Sea of Okhotsk? The play is hilarious, full of surprises and [...] Review by Susan Meehan

By Kentaro Kobayashi In his lonely life, Mr Potsunen is surrounded by creativeness and marvels. This story begins with his interest in insects and a central aspect is the capture of one, that Mr Potsunen decides to look after. Review by Mike Sullivan

The play’s setting is a decrepit family-run cinema in a small northern town on the Sea of Japan coast, soon to be turned into a supermarket. It is here that we encounter Sei, a middle-aged actor, who, like the [...] Review by Susan Meehan

Directed by Annabelle Sami Sei is a middle-aged actor, once brilliant, but now fading. His wife orchestrates a love affair between him and a younger co-star to reinvigorate his career and help him find the brilliance of his youth [...] Review by David Knox