TATTOOER
Inspired by a short story by Junichiro Tanizaki, the world-renowned Japanese literary figure, and Irezumi tattoos, which have attracted worldwide attention as a popular Japanese art-form through mediums such as anime and video games, this play aims to promote Japanese theatrical culture in the UK.

Story:
Seikichi is a young tattoo artist and former Ukiyo-e artist of high repute. His longtime wish is to “carve his soul into the skin of a beautiful woman” but he has been unable to find a willing partner. The story begins when Seikichi finally meets his ideal canvas…

Playwright Takuya Kaneshima said: “Tanizaki’s story “Shisei” depicts a secretive, closed relationship between the tattooer and the tattooed. But there are fractures in this relationship, which connect unexpectedly with the outside world. In this play I wanted to explore the complexity and vulnerability of relationships glimpsed in Tanizaki’s work.”

Director Hogara Kawai said: “Tattooing is the act of scarring the skin with a needle and filling it with colour. By filling scars with colour, they become art. What kind of picture would emerge if you could ink the “scars” you have acquired in your life? What would the art that resides in your body look like? In exploring this beautiful play, I am looking forward to finding out.”

An exciting feature of the production will see renowned Japanese Ink-Brush Painter Gaku Azuma (left) painting a ’tattoo’ on the actress’s back during the interval at each show. A maverick art director who has
produced numerous poster designs in Japan’s stage industry, and an artist who adroitly controls his ink as if he were depicting the beauty of life in the universe with thin strands of thread. The French Doll, a painting he completed at the age of 17, is currently permanently housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Since 2015, he has moved his canvas onto the skin of women through body painting, and has created collaborative works with over 200 models.

Cast:
Leo Ashizawa
Leo is a Japan-born actor based in London. Film and TV includes: the Russo Brothers’ series Citadel
(Amazon Prime); Legendary’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (AppleTV+); Einstein and the Bomb
(Netflix & BBC). Leo is a founding member of The Washing Machine, a UK based theatre and
performance collective known for The Medea Hypothesis (Cockpit Theatre).

Aki Nakagawa
Recent theatre includes: My Neighbour Totoro (Royal Shakespeare Company); Lord Of The Flies (Leeds Playhouse); Garden Of Words (Park Theatre). Film and TV includes: Boarders (BBC3).

Nozomi de Lencquesaing
Nozomi is a half French and Japanese actor based in Japan. He has appeared on stage in London, Paris, Barcelona and Izmir. Creditsinclude: as a child, Tensai Terebi-Kun (NHK, 2003-2006); Kami No Shizuku/ Drops Of God (international drama series co-produced by Japan, France & the US); Fence (WOWOW &NHK).

Mao Aono
Mao is Japanese. She is a member of the Japanese theatre group Seinendan. Recently, she has been participating in Ressenchka works, primarily as a dramaturg and actress. Theatre includes:
Ressenchka’s Schoolgirl (based on Osamu Dazai’s novel of the same name); Good War; Juro Miyoshi’s Murderous Intent (Strip Show). She also occasionally releases video content introducing Japanese sweets while wearing kimonos

Follow us on Instagram: @tattooertheplay

Creative team:
Director and Set Designer - Hogara Kawai
Dramaturg and Costume Designer - Mao Aomo
Lighting Designer - Rob Halliday
Sound Designer - Yu Takeda
Casting Director and General Manager Danielle Tarento
Producer Umeda Arts Theater

Takuya Kaneshima (Playwright)
In 2013 Takuya formed the theatre group Choco Thief, for who he writes and directs. He specialises in conversational drama using Okinawan youth slang, and performs original scripts based on comedies and mysteries. He also performs in the theatre unit Tamadorobo with a Ryukyuan dancer. As a playwright, he won first prize in the scenario and drama category of the 14th Okinawa Literary Awards in 2018 for Folklore. In 2021 he won the 31st Audio Drama Encouragement Award and Honorable Mention for
NHK-FM Theater’s Haisai Shokudo in Fushigi no Kuni. In 2022 he won the 30th Yomiuri Theatre Grand Prize for Excellence for his play Raicam de Mattoku, also a finalist for the 26th Tsuruya Nanboku Drama Award and the 67th Kishida Kunio Drama Award.

Hogara Kawai (Director)
A graduate from Kyoto University’s Art and Design’s Department of Performing Arts, Hogara founded and is director of the “Ressenchka” Theater Company in 2013 as an outlet for his theatrical arts. In 2019, he began collaborating with Kyoto Performing Arts Center, presenting “Pipe Dream” (2019), “So Long Goodbye” (2020) and “Good War” (2021). These works consist of collaged transcriptions of interviews that Kawai conducted with random people he met through dating apps. Each piece is based on a book by oral historian Studs Terkel, with each piece and the interviews presented in it focusing respectively on the themes of “Ideal ways to die”, “work”, and “war.” These pieces have been well received and have had multiple repeat performances. Recently, he has been actively working with pre-existing plays, having directed Juro Miyoshi’s “Strip Show” and Shogo Ota’s “Sarachi.” He also presented a 30 minute monologue play based on Osamu Dazai’s novel, “Schoolgirl.” Kawai creates works based on his interests at the time, exploring different genres without being bound to any particular one. But regardless of the style of his works, he continues to explore the theme of “what makes people human”.

Junichiro Tanizaki (24 July 1886 – 30 July 1965)
Author Junichiro Tanizaki is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in modern Japanese literature. The tone and subject matter of his work ranges from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle portrayals of the dynamics of family life within the context of the rapid changes in 20th-century Japanese society. Frequently, his stories are narrated in the context of a search for cultural identity in which constructions of the West and Japanese tradition are juxtaposed. He was one of six authors on the final shortlist for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1964, the year before his death.

12 for £12.00 each on all performances
Previews £20.00
Stalls £25.00