dracom is a performing arts group based in Osaka. Our pieces vary in style from humorous surreal performances to works dealing with serious social issues. We are known for the distinct directorial style that creates humor and tension through unique articulation and sense of timing, used the Japanese Kansai-Keihan area accent.
Works
“Sokonaizu-Bottomless”
A small, empty room in an apartment in a city. A woman is lying there repeating a question to herself. Is she alive or dead? A modern tragedy based on an actual case of Kodokushi (lonely death) in Osaka.
This piece was premiered in 2015 at the small art gallery where is formerly the apartment house in local town of Osaka during the year change period, and was well received at the Tokyo Festival World Competition 2019 for its extreme simplicity of staging and intensity of text.
This play was selected as one example of innovative Japanese contemporary theatre for the Segal Center Japanese Playwrights Project in 2018.
“Today’s Judgement”
As a sport with mysterious rules is played out, leaving the audience behind, the scoreboard displays sports charters, stock prices, and the number of atomic bombs held in various countries around the world, revealing the divisions and conflicts in contemporary society.
This piece premiered in Kyoto in 2016 and was well received at FFT-Düsseldorf in 2017.
“Shakagaike – Der Buddha-Teich”
The main themes are "apology", "discommunication", and "script". This is a humorous piece based on a variety of common things and the little-known diplomatic issues that occurred in the latter half of the 19th century between Japan, which was trying to establish a modern state, and Germany, which was seeking to expand in East Asia. This is a Japanese-German co-production in which Japanese and German subtitles play a very important role.
This piece was premiered at FFT-Düsseldorf in 2019.