AOI/KOMACHI at Japan Society March 22-24 March 22, 2007

Takeshi Kawamura’s AOI/KOMACHI

Japan Society
Performing Arts 2007

Thursday, March 22 - Saturday, March 24
7:30 pm

In Japanese with English subtitles.

Emulating the surreal tones of Japanese horror movies, these dynamic, hallucinatory works of cinematic proportions come from the highly acclaimed avant-garde theater auteur and winner of the presitigious Kishida Kunio Drama Prize, Takeshi Kawamura. The masterful writer/director directs a double-bill of his striking interpretations of classic 15th-century noh plays by Ze’ami. AOI is based on Aoi no Ue, which itself was inspired by the 11th-century novel Tale of the Genji. Kawamura sets the action in the hair salon of a celebrity coiffeur whose former lover haunts his new client in a vicious cycle of poisonous love. KOMACHI, Kawamura’s modern rendition of the poetic Sotoba Komachi, weaves the tale of a down-and-out film-maker’s mysterious journey into the dark past of an iconic film diva. The productions feature spectacular video design and star award-winning actress and Takarazuka idol Rei Asami and legendary butoh artist Akira Kasai.

Tickets: $38/$32 Japan Society members. Purchase tickets online at http://www.japansociety.org or call the Box Office at (212) 715-1258.

Official Website: http://www.japansociety.org