Japanese Theater Shares Cultural Similarities in Britain

A playhouse in London, Britain and a theater from Osaka, Japan, are working together to prove cultural differences between the two countries are only on the surface.

London's Charing Cross Theatre and Osaka's Umeda Arts Theater first worked together on a performance in 2019. After a break caused by the pandemic, they are jointly staging two plays in London this month. The plays are rooted in Japanese culture and deal with secretive relationships, but the concerns are universal.

Actor Susan Momoko Hingley spoke of Japan's export of culture, including films and television series. She told the Reuters news agency, "It's really about getting great stories from all sorts of different cultures to Britain and to the West."

She stars in One Small Step, written by Takuya Kato. It tells the story of a couple working for a company that is colonizing the moon. The plot becomes more complex with the news the woman is pregnant. It raises concerns audiences almost anywhere can relate to about motherhood, career and inequality between men and women.

All about equality

Kato, who is also the play's director, said, "In terms of equity, I think nowadays many people often say that we are striving for fairness within companies, within societies and between individuals."

"But I think it is something that we understand with our heads but might not necessarily grasp it with our hearts,” he added.

The London production, Kato said, gave new life to his play "at the intersection of two different cultures." He noted that for Japanese creative industries, the market within Japan may not be enough to support them. Working with companies in other countries helps the theater companies and expands knowledge of the culture.

"If we don't grow the part of coproductions, which we have traditionally struggled with, it would be difficult to survive as both an industry and culture in the future," he said.

Second play to come

Following One Small Step, which runs until October 9, Charing Cross Theatre will host Tattooer later in the month. The play, by another Japanese writer, Takuya Kaneshima, tells the story of a tattoo artist.

I'm Jill Robbins.

Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Barbara Lewis reported this story for Reuters. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English.

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stage – v. to produce (a play, performance, etc.) on a stage

audience – n. the people who watch, read, or listen to something

strive – v. to try very hard to do or achieve something

grasp – v. to understand (something that is complicated or difficult)

intersection – n. the place or point where two or more things come together