Lifelike Japanese dolls tell a story of unattainable love, with music & Anime
SADO is an authentically Japanese stage project through and through. The title of this performance comes from the island of Sado in the Sea of Japan, known for its art of puppetry. Sado was once a penal colony, which led to the exile of many free thinking artists. As a result, the rich Bunraku tradition of puppetry flourished on the island: a Japanese artform that opposed the more farcical Western puppetry variant and focused on human drama.
SADO is loosely based on the short story In the Forest, Under Cherries in Full Bloom by Ango Sakaguchi. It starts with a simple observation: without the Other, a forest full of blossoming cherry trees is not beautiful, but something terrifying. The theme of SADO revolves around loneliness and the deep human need to form relationships with one another.
A performance enriched by sound and music, yet told without words. Puppet master Hachirobe Nishihasi performs this work solo, directed by Tomoko Mukaiyama.
Bunraku is a Japanese form of puppet theater. The puppeteers play large puppets and are completely dressed in black and visible to the public. Bunraku contrasts sharply with the Western tradition of puppetry, in which amusement and satire play a greater role. In the Japanese style there is a greater focus on human drama and the relationships between people. There is also greater freedom for the makers: dolls can switch genders, suddenly change into a ghost or rise from the dead. This ambiguity and unpredictability offers the audience the opportunity to question their own feelings.
Hachirobe Nishihasi is a talented puppeteer and actor. Nishihasi hails from the Island of Sado and has specialized himself in the Bunraku tradition of Japanese puppetry. With his project SADO he explores the complex relationship between puppet and puppet master, showing audiences that no movement is casual, random or vague in the field of puppet theater. Each action is deliberate, pushing the relationship between puppet and puppeteer in a certain direction.
| Director | Tomoko Mukaiyama |
| Japanese puppeteer | Hachirobe Nishihashi |
| 3D anime | Ryoko Kimura, Reinier van Brummelen, Neda Gueorguieva |
| Music | Tomoko Mukaiyama, Tomaso Albinoni, Kaho Nakamura |
| Technical director | Yutaka Endo |
| Sound technician | Yuji Tsutsumida |
| Graphic design | Simo Tse |
| Marketing | Willem Schenk |
| Production assistant | Yayoi Manabe |
| Production | Tomoko Mukaiyama Foundation |
| Co-production | SARUHACHI-ZA, Multus (Japan) |
| Supported by | Fonds Podiumkunsten |
After talk
21:30 – 22:00
After the performance, there will be an after-talk with Tomoko. This will be led by Shane Burmania (Music Programmer)
Korzo Zaal