Tokyo
Six years after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US, it's a commonplace to say the world has changed, mostly for the worse. But the introduction to a new play asks: 'Can the world really change so much in just one day?'
World Trade Centre as (in) Katakana, staged by Tokyo-based theatre company Rinkogun, explores the reactions of a group of Japanese living in New York on that fateful day. The title, says director Yoji Sakate, refers to 'an interpretation of what occurred that day from an alien, Japanese perspective'.
The play follows the characters as they desperately try to make sense of the day's events via jumbled media reports, broken conversation and rumours in a language they barely understand.
Sakate is clearly unhappy at what followed. A wounded America lashes out, first at Afghanistan, then at Iraq. And Japan slips the moorings of its pacifist constitution to support these wars. The play asks why the Japanese have bought into war, and highlights what the director calls their insufficient awareness of Japan's support for the US war on terror.
Rinkogun has never shied away from controversy. Since 1983 its plays have tackled the emperor system, religious cults, nationalism, homosexuality and the presence of US bases on Japanese soil. Given the sensitivities of September 11, this may be its toughest task yet, but Sakate says he knows the risks.
He not only asks the audience to think about the path Japan has taken since 2001, but also throws a bilingual script at them, with New York-based actor Ed Vassallo speaking in his native English.
Sakate has also developed a definition of bad September 11 art. 'What makes it bad is if it abandons the past, as if it can never be changed, or leads to an infestation of conservative thoughts,' he says.
Will Japanese punters accept a play that berates them for their apathy and ignorance? 'The audience will commit to their own judgments,' says the director. 'I believe theatre has always existed through the cosmos of mutual relationships with audiences.'
World Trade Centre as (in) Katakana by Rinkogun, Suzunari Theatre, Shimokitazawa, Oct 20 to Nov 6
