Starring Jun Matsumoto, Masami Nagasawa, Eita Nagayama, Nozomi Muraoka, Nobue Iketani, Kazushige Komatsu, Hideki Noda, Naoto Takenaka
From Tokyo to London: A wildly creative courtroom spin on Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov
Love in Action takes key events from The Brothers Karamazov set in 19th Century Russia and re-imagines the story in Japan with some new twists and turns as well as a new, unexpected ending. The drama centres on a family of traditional firework makers and the murder of a father seemingly by his eldest son after they fall in love with the same woman. The show will arrive in London after a 75-date tour of Tokyo, Kitakyushu and Osaka.
Acclaimed Japanese theatre maker Hideki Noda and his production company NODA MAP return to London this October with another re-telling of a literary masterpiece following their take on Romeo & Juliet set to the songs of Queen two years ago.
The cast of twenty-five includes some of the most prominent stars of Japanese entertainment, led by actor and member of J-pop group Arashi, Jun Matsumoto, Matsumoto will play the oldest son of the family and is joined by Eita Nagayama, most recently seen globally in last year’s critically acclaimed Japanese psychological film Monster, as the middle brother. Masami Nagasawa, best known internationally for her role in 2019’s action movie Kingdom, will play two roles including the youngest son. Also in the cast are Naoto Takenaka as the patriarch of the family and NODA MAP regulars Nozomi Muraoka, Nobue Iketani and Kazushige Komatsu.
Love in Action has been written by founder of NODA MAP Hideki Noda, who will also direct and appear as one of the main cast which he does in every production.
The London shows will be performed in Japanese with English subtitles.
Presented by NODA・MAP, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre
Special Sponsors : Sumitomo Life Insurance Company, GC Corporation, Asahi Kohsan Group
Supported by Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan, The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation
Subsidized by JLOX+
Produced by NODA・MAP
Writer & Director Hideki Noda
Set Design Yukio Horio | Lighting Design Motoi Hattori & Makoto Kitazawa | Costume Design Kodue Hibino Music Marihiko Hara | Sound Design Junko Fujimoto | Choreography Shigehiro Ide
Hair & Make-Up Eri Akamatsu | Projection Design Taiki Ueda | Stage Manager Masataka Sesaki
Production Manager Ayumu Poe Saegusa | Producer Hiroyuki Suzuki
Hideki Noda said,
“We were overjoyed with the reception to A Night At The Kabuki from both London critics and audiences back in 2022 and we knew we had to come back with something even better. Love in Action will show another side to my work. It’s suspenseful, but not stereotypical suspense. It concerns the unbearable enigma of humanness. It is pure entertainment designed to capture the audience’s attention as the actors move intensely in and around the stage. As a director, I always try to consider how I can create works which are a feast for the eyes, and as a writer, I always try to consider how I can write dazzling plot developments which exhaust the audience. I do not like to bore people. (In other words, I hate to be bored myself.) Boredom is what makes theatre die. Fortunately, the novel that Love in Action is based on has given me more than enough inspiration as well as a masterful plot. Our story, however, takes us to a place far removed from the original. And you can only see where it lands if you come to the theatre. As a side note, I am proud to come to London with some of Japan’s best actors. I hope London audience will enjoy such special occasion to see them act in front of them altogether. I am excited and a little nervous about how the audience in the world’s biggest theatre capital will react to this play.’’
A feast for the eyes… a madcap, dazzling joyTIME OUT (on A Night At The Kabuki)
Hideki Noda’s zany, imaginative rewrite of Romeo and Juliet is a colourful mash-up …the evening is crazy and raucous★★★★ THE TIMES (on A Night At The Kabuki)
Performances
Age 16 - 30?
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