The Japan Society Review

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

Directed by Amy Draper Usagi Yojimbo, presents an adventurous rabbit samurai and teaches us of war, responsibility and honour in Edo period Japan – austere subjects made delightfully light with the addition of rabbit ears. Review by Annabelle Sami

SIRO-A are a six member group originally from Sendai. Their unusual performance can only be described as an amazing blend of dance, music and technology, as the boundaries between [...] Review by Michael Sullivan

By Mike Poulton with Sho Kawai This inspiring play brings his story to life in a production written by Mike Poulton and Shoichiro Kawai, and directed by Gregory Doran (Royal Shakespeare Company’s Artistic Director). An international supporting cast includes [...] Review by Michael Sullivan