‘The Question of Faeries’ Online Tour Q / Satoko Ichihara

About

I am invisible.
To end up being made invisible
Is the same as being invisible.

Just because something is invisible does not mean it does not exist. Performed by Theater Company Q, The Question of Faeries was inspired by the 2016 massacre of residents of a facility for the disabled in the city of Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture. It applies the name “faeries” to the objects of discrimination and hate in contemporary Japanese society that are sometimes invisible, and makes them visible. It was performed as one of the official programs of Kyoto Experiment in 2018. Taking up the exceedingly human issues of facial beauty/ugliness, eugenics, and prenatal diagnosis, it relativizes them by adopting the non-human perspective of a mutant cockroach and symbiotic bacteria, and takes a radical look at human life and sex. It consists of three parts: Part 1, titled “Ugly Woman,” in a rakugo format; Part 2, titled “Cockroach,” in the form of a popular song show; and Part 3, titled “Mangurt,” in the form of a weird seminar. All three parts taking mutually different forms are performed almost entirely alone by Kyoko Takenaka. Her unique and bizarre performance makes it impossible for the audience to turn their backs on the problems before their eyes, while sometimes even giving them a feeling of visceral repulsion.
In addition to having a few more actors, the online edition changes Part 1 into an online conversation, Part 2 into a musical-type video work, and Part 3 into a web seminar. The audience is likewise pulled into the performance on the other side of the screen in a different way.

For the online tour of “The Question of Faeries”, we are holding a talk session following the streaming of the stage edition (for China) and the new online edition (for Indonesia) collaborating with local cast, with the participation of local producers, critics, and researchers.Perspectives on issues such as gender, facial beauty/ugliness, and disabilities treated in work, and the normal outlook as the premise in thought about them, depend on the cultural background of the audience. The talk session will assist better understanding of the work by presenting the context of contemporary Japanese society, which lies behind the work, to the audience. It will also pick up and discuss reactions, including alienation and backlash, from local audiences whose social context differs from that of Japanese audiences, in order to shed light on “what cannot be seen” from the standpoint of the respective contexts of Japan and the locality. This practice will presumably prompt re-examinations of outlooks on value among the creators and audiences.

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Message from the artist

I am looking forward to seeing how this performance will be perceived by the Chinese and Indonesian audiences and what kind of dialogue will be happen.

Satoko Ichihara

Information

“‘The Question of Faeries’ Online Tour
Q / Satoko Ichihara
May 29th (Sat) – 30th (Sun), 2021
Special website (multilingual)　THATRE for ALL

Streaming with Chinese surtitles

The stage version of “‘The Question of Faeries’will be streamed for 2days.

Schedule: May 29th(Sat)-30th(Sun), 2021
Language: Japanese performance, Chinese subtitles
Viewing fee: free

Indonesian version Streaming

We will streaming the new online edition of ‘The Question of Faeries’ collaborating with local cast and using a part of the recoring of past online performances.

Schedule: May 30th(Sun) 15:30- (Indonesian Time)/ 17:30- (Japanese Standard Time)
Language: Japanese and Indonesian with Indonesian surtitles
Viewing fee: free

Talk session

■Talk session between Japan and China.
We will share and exchange the opinions about the situation in the theater world of each country and their cultural contexts. We will deepen understanding of the stage edition of “The Question of Faeries” based on the discussion.

May 29th(Sat)
18:00- (Chinese Standard Time) / 17:00- (Japanese Standard Time)
Sprekers:
Zhang Yuan(Shanghai / Local producer),Shi Ke(Shanghai / Theater critic, Actor), aoaoing ensemble(Shanghai / Local theater company), Satoko Ichihara(Japan)

■Joint talk session with Japan, China and Indonesia.

What is “faeries” in this performance? What are the objects dealt with as invisible in each society? We will exchange each awareness of the problem that arises through the performance.

May 30th(Sun) After Indonesian version Streaming
Sprekers:
Zhang Yuan(Shanghai /Producer),Shi Ke(Shanghai / Theater critic, Actor), aoaoaing ensemble(Shanghai / local theater company), Muhammad Abe(Yogyakarta / Producer), Rebecca Kezia(Yogyakarta / Performing arts researcher, Producer), Arsita Iswardhani(Yogyakarta / Actor), Satoko Ichihara(Japan)

Credits

Playwright / Director: Satoko Ichihara

[Streaming with Chinese surtitles]
Performers: Kyoko Takenaka, Mayo Hyodo, Takako Yamamura (Seinendan)
Piano: Ryo Sugimoto
Music Composer: Masashi Nukata (Tokyo Shiokoji / Nuthmique)
Set design: Tomomi Nakamura
Dramaturge: Masahiko Yokobori
Stage manager: Chinatsu Iwata
Lighting: Reiko Kawashima
Sound Effect: Kouji Shiina
Video: Nobuhiro Matsuzawa, Sou Hirota
Company manager: Yoshiki Masuda
Editor: Yoshiyuki Sakuragi

Streaming video as part of KYOTO EXPERIMENT 2018 Official Program (Presented by KYOTO EXPERIMENT)

Producer: Zhang Yuan
Co-presented by The Japan Foundation, Beijing
Chinese surtitle translation: Bolao, Liangjie
Chinese document translation: Gege Wu
Publicity: Fake Festival
Interpretation (talk session): Lin Shu
Special thanks: Lin Cuixi, Zhu Tianyi, Liu Gefei

[Indonesian version Streaming]
Performers：Uul Sjareefah Lail、Aik Vela
Video appearance: Sanae En, Kyoko Takenaka, Hanaka Terada, Kanako Nishida, Keisuke Hidaka (FUKAIPRODUCE-hagoromo), Takako Yamamura (Seinendan)​​, Tamari Yamane
Music Composer: Masashi Nukata (Tokyo Shiokoji / Nuthmique)
Piano(Recording): Ryo Sugimoto

Producer: Muhammad Abe
Indonesian Translation: Tomomi Yokosuka​ ​
Video Crew: Yustiansyah Lesmana & crew
Production Assistant: BM Anggana
Designer: Makhrus Amri
Public Relations:​ ​Amelia Rizqi Fitriani

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Technical Director: Takaki Sudo

Company Manager : Makiko Yamazato (Q)

Producer: Tamiko Ouki (precog)
Production Manager: Yuina Baba (precog)
Production Assistant: Nanami Endo (precog)

Production: Q
Presented by DRIFTERS INTERNATIONAL
Supported by Arts Council Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture), The Japan Foundation Asia Center Grant Program for Enhancing People-to-People Exchange (under application)

Planning and Production Management by precog co., LTD.
Executive Producer: Akane Nakamura
Executive Officer/Publicity & Branding Director: Kao Kanamori
Senior Producer: Kumi Hiraoka
Chief Producer: Mai Hyodo
Chief Administrator: Yuka Morita

Technical Director: Takaki Sudo

Company Manager : Makiko Yamazato (Q)

Producer: Tamiko Ouki (precog)
Production Manager: Yuina Baba (precog)
Production Assistant: Nanami Endo (precog)

Production: Q
Presented by DRIFTERS INTERNATIONAL
Supported by Arts Council Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture), The Japan Foundation Asia Center Grant Program for Enhancing People-to-People Exchange (under application)

Planning and Production Management by precog co., LTD.
Executive Producer: Akane Nakamura
Executive Officer/Publicity & Branding Director: Kao Kanamori
Senior Producer: Kumi Hiraoka
Chief Producer: Mai Hyodo
Chief Administrator: Yuka Morita