Max Frisch ‘Biografie Ein Spiel’
Thu 9 Jun – Sun 12 Jun at Theatre Tram

 

★Message from Artist★

As the Theatre Company shelf, the Tokyo performance after a long absence is that in the Theatre tram. This time, it will be the first translation and premiere of the masterpiece of the postwar Swiss writer Max Frisch in Japan. It was translated by Koki Matsuu, who won the 8th Yushi Odashima Translation Drama Award for “20000 pages” by Lucas Bearhus. We look forward from the bottom of my heart, so please visit the theatre.

 

[Summary]

If one has a chance to go back to a certain moment in the past, choose a new course of action from it and live again with the memories of one’s life, where and what should be chosen and acted upon? If a different choice is made, would it be a different life? Hannes Cureman, a professor of behavioural science, is given the freedom to redo his choices of life. The director leads Cureman back to past events, based on his already lived biography, and lets him make the decision over. Cureman attempts to re-enact the chosen scenes on stage, creating a second version of his biography, as it were…

[Overview]

Despite having the freedom of choice to start his life over on stage, Cureman repeats his failure by choosing the same course of action. But we find the hilarity in his failures, as well as the real cause of his refusal to change, of which even he is unaware, over the time he tries “Again!” after getting accused by the director.

From the personal and slight issues of each individual, such as the nature of identity and the relationships among the community that Frisch analyses and portrays, a glimpse of a human existence bound by social, political and invisible power in the relationship between the self and the other emerges will be found.  It can be considered as the reflection of the human beings throughout the corona period, who are bound by invisible social and political (and also public health,

perhaps) fears and power.

The Theatre company shelf commissioned Max Frisch scholar Koki Matsuu to translate this piece into Japanese for the first time translation.

Matsuu is an award-winning German-Japanese translator of the 8th Yushi Odajima Drama Award for Translation for his translation work of ‘2000 Pages’ by Lukas Bæhrfuss.

[Artistic / Cast]

Created by / Max Frisch
Translation / Kouki Matsuu
Director/  Yano Yasuhito
Cast / Yuko Kawabuchi, Mako Mitsuhashi, Takashi Okito, Shoichi Ayada, Yuhei Yokota

Scenery / Kensuke Suzuki
Wardrobe / Tomo Fujita
Lighting / Tsuruyo Noritake
Sound / Masashi Wada
Stage Manager / Ayumi Doi

Promotion Visuals / Tamotsu Okuma (956D) Producer / Yano Yasuhito Production Assistant / Kaya Hirasawa Production Cooperation / Sachiko Kanno (Chocolate Cake Theatre Company /  Noano Omochabako) Planning, Production / shelf Assosiation Copyright Management / Sakai Copyright Office, SUHRKAMP VERLAG Affiliation / Setagaya Public Theatre, Setagaya Cultural Foundation Supported by / Setagaya Ward Office, Embassy of Switzerland in Japan Agency for Cultural Affairs “ARTS for the future! 2” subsidized project

[Ticket]

Adult: 4,500 yen
Student: 2,000 yen (ID required)
U24: 2,000 yen *Under 24 years old / advance sales only at the Theatre Ticket Centre, registration required.
*Disabled discount: 4,000 yen *One free ticket for a carer. Reserved only by the theatre company shelf.
*Online stream: 3,000 yen *Distributed after the performance, limited period only. Reserved only by the theatre company shelf.
(All seats reserved, tax included)

[Schedule]

09 Jun (Thu) 18:30
10 Jun (Fri) 18:30
11 Jun (Sat) 14:00
12 Jun (Sun) 14:00

Run time for 2.5 hours (with an intermission).

[Ticket sales]

Setagaya Public Theatre: https://setagaya-pt.jp/performances/20220306-110766.html
Confetti: https://s.confetti-web.com/detail.php?tid=65886
Ticket Pia: https://t.pia.jp/pia/event/event.do?eventCd=2208950

 

More details: https://theatre-shelf.org/ https://twitter.com/Theatre_shelf

Meet Up Profile: https://eu-japanfest.org/meet-up/artist/profile/298