Stage Door News
Stage Door News
What would happen if Godot, the mysterious unseen character in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, actually turned up? Why Not Theatre, in association with fu-GEN Theatre Company, brings the work of one of Japan’s more foremost playwrights, Minoru Betsuyaku to Toronto for one night only to present Theatre Office Natori’s Godot Has Come.
Betsuyaku, who has established the Theatre of the Absurd in Japan, wrote this brilliant play as homage to Beckett. Performed in Japanese with projected English translations, this is a slapstick comedy – much more comic than the original by Beckett. Godot Has Come is Betsuyaku’s critical look at what it means to actually experience something – and whether, in our modern context, we can surpass indifference to exist in the present moment.
Toronto is infamous for its cultural and linguistic diversity. As a company, Why Not is constantly trying to find new ways to create access for audiences to attend theatre, while pushing the boundaries of artistic innovation for theatre in Toronto. We are always challenging who is on stage and who is in the audience. Our partnership with fu-GEN Theatre, the premiere Asian Canadian theatre company in Canada, reinforces that commitment to access, inclusion and excellence in the arts.
For Godot Has Come, we will also be addressing financial barriers for the arts with our Pay-What-You-Can-Afford pricing model.
GODOT HAS COME (やってきたゴドー)
Saturday December 9th, 7:30PM at Factory Theatre Mainspace | 125 Bathurst Street
Written by Minoru Betsuyaku, Produced by Theatre Office Natori
Presented by Why Not Theatre in association with fu-GEN Theatre Company
Tickets are Pay-What-You-Can-Afford*, $10 / $20 / $40 / $70
available at factorytheatre.ca/book-tickets/ or by calling 416 504 9971
*A note on ticket prices for Godot Has Come: In order to ensure accessibility, Why Not Theatre and fu-GEN Theatre Company invite you to Pay-What-You-Can-Afford. You can pick any one of four prices—$10, $20, $40, $70—whichever suits your budget. All tickets are general admission, and there are no limits on any price level. Pick the price you can afford to pay for your ticket and book your seat.
“I only hope that larger audiences will have the opportunity to see this play and enjoy the richness of its meanings, hidden in every detail of the staging.” – Stories of the Mirror
Directed by K. Kiyama | Starring Yuga Yoshino, Genjiro Mori, Mitsushi Matsumoto, Tsuginobu Honda, Shingi Yamaguchi, Jun Arai, Chikako Hashimoto, Ayaji Miyauchi, Mai Morio, Yuko Fukami | Set Design by Mitsuru Ishi | Lighting Design by Mashumi Sakurai & Yumi Matsumoto | Sound Design by Hiroyuki Ide & Hitomi Kushi | Costume Design by Ai Higuchi
About Theatre Office Natori | nato.jp
Theatre Office Natori is a production company headed by Toshiyuki Natori. The Office produces plays, contemporary dance, film and other performances. In recent years Theatre Office Natori has produced a series of Ibsen’s plays directed by Dr. Mitsuya Mori, Japan’s leading Ibsen scholar and also a stage director. Their Ibsen productions have been highly acclaimed in Japan as “a new Ibsen”, that is, a clear interpretation and innovative expression of the actuality of Ibsen’s modern plays. An Enemy of the People (1999), The Lady from the Sea (2003) and Hedda Gabler (2004) were all included in the “Three best productions of the month” selection of Teatro, a monthly theatre magazine in Tokyo.
Theatre Office Natori started the Minoru Betsuyaku International Exchange series in 2009. Betsuyaku is one of Japan’s foremost playwrights. The third production of the series, Godot Has Come, was performed in Paris and Berlin in 2012, Dublin, Moscow and Sibiu in 2014, and performs in Canada and the U.S. in 2017.
Photo: Scene from Godot Has Come. ©2017
2017-11-13
Toronto: Why Not Theatre presents the Japanese play "Godot Has Come" on December 9