Kyodo World Service, August 30th, 2007
After passing auditions last year and undergoing rigorous
rehearsals, a theatrical troupe composed of people aged 67 on average
successfully completed a 10-day run of a stage play recently.
Etsuko Shigemoto, 81, said she found the drama difficult to act
in because it was ''avant-garde'' but added, ''I am happy to start
(acting in a) work that depicts the era in which we live.''
The play, titled ''Senjo no Pikunikku'' (A Picnic Aboard a Ship)
was presented at the Saitama Arts Theater in Saitama City from June
22 to July 1 by the ''Saitama Gold Theater'' players. The troupe is
led by noted Japanese stage director Yukio Ninagawa, 71.
Ninagawa, considered a master of modern-day dramas in Japan who
has also received high marks abroad for directing Shakespeare's
plays, organized the theatrical group with 21 men and 27 women -- all
aged 55 or older -- who he picked regardless of whether they had
previous acting experience or not. A total of 1,011 people attended
the auditions.
The play, written by playwright Ryo Iwamatsu, is about a group
of former hotel employees on board a ship on their way to a resort
where they have found new jobs after being laid off due to
restructuring. They rescue a refugee en route to their destination
but are caught in a whirlpool of doubt and fear over the man they
saved because of difficulty in communicating with him, as well as
over their new jobs.
Finally, some former hotel employees attack the refugee.
Shigemoto played the role of the woman instigating the assault.
''The ship making an unstable voyage represents the present
condition in Japan,'' Ninagawa said. Iwamatsu's work ''puts together
all the problems we have.''
A capacity crowd gave a big hand to all the actors for playing
their parts enthusiastically, displaying elderly people's anxieties
and pains and giving persuasive performances. There is a real sense
of reality here, commented Ninagawa, who created the troupe for new
stage plays that make use of human experience.
Iwamatsu said he was overwhelmed by the stage play and felt he
was pleased to have written it.
The members of Saitama Gold Theater attended rehearsals and took
lessons five days a week and held two intermediate performances
although some members became sick, suffered injuries or had to care
for family members.
Ninagawa did not treat anyone with compassion. He kept asking
some actors to go over their lines again and hurled stern words at
some elderly players when they forgot their lines, saying, ''Fight
against the aging phenomenon.'' Two people left the troupe.
He said, ''Aged members will grow without fail if you refrain
from overly protecting them and raise hurdles. Their potential will
not shrivel.''
Seijiro Takata, 75, who played the role of the refugee wearing a
bandage, fell down and broke his shoulder bone while making a guest
appearance in Ninagawa's stage play in February. He became
fainthearted thinking he would be excluded from the troupe's
performance.
Ninagawa told him to ''be sure to come back. We'll wait for
you.'' Takata said, ''An actor risks his life to do his job. But I'd
like to be (performing as an actor) for a little while.''
Ninagawa will interview each member of the group and decide his
or her future role.
At a gathering following the final presentation of the play, one
player after another appealed to Ninagawa to continue Saitama Gold
Theater.
Michiyo Miyata, 58, from Niigata Prefecture said, ''I'd like to
stick to him...I won't go back (home).''
Shigemoto, the oldest member of the group, said, ''I want to be
with everyone for the rest of my life.''
Ninagawa said he hopes to offer a stage work to a young
playwright and ask him to work together with the troupe.
