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Tokyo Festival 2019

Tokyo Festival is an international performing arts festival that mainly takes place in the Ikebukuro area of Toshima City. In 2016, the festival began to be held in partnership with Toshima City, Tokyo Metropolitan Theater, and Festival/Tokyo; in 2018, the planning team was bolstered with the addition of seven field-specific directors, including Satoshi Miyagi as General Director, ensuring a highly individual program of performances.


Tokyo 2020 is almost here! But will it really be a “festival of peace”?
Globally in the past few years there has been an escalation of the old way of silencing something bothersome with power, by which I mean military or economic power. It certainly is possible to silence your opponent with power. However, the one who is silenced does not respect the side that wields the power, and merely feel intense hatred. Such is the human race.

If there is something left that we can do amidst this maelstrom on a global scale, I believe the only option is to demonstrate the merit of diversity. I don’t mean that we should measure the whole by a single yardstick, but that we should gradually introduce and increase alternative criteria. This will lead to the emergence of interest in other people’s yardsticks. Then we would understand that different people hold different things dear.

We at Tokyo Festival will do our best to support this endeavor. This year we also inaugurate the “World Competition,” in which visitors can experience for themselves how interesting it is to expand the yardsticks by which we make evaluations (and strongly hope that next year will be a celebration of peace!)
I hope visitors feel some interest in our efforts.

Tokyo Festival General Director
Satoshi Miyagi


Tokyo Festival World Competition 2019
 “Big Nothing”
 Saturday, November 2, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Theatre East
 “The Howling Girls”
 Thursday, October 31, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Playhouse
 “La posibilidad que desaparece frente al paisaje”
 Wednesday, October 30, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Theatre East
 “Mea Culpa”
 Wednesday, October 30, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Theatre East
 “Tú Amarás”
 Saturday, November 2, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Theatre West
 “Sokonaizu”
 Saturday, November 2 and Sunday, Novermber 3, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Playhouse

IKEBUKURO Takigi Noh (torch lit Noh) “Nohgaku QUEST”(新演出能-能「皇帝・楊貴妃」「石橋」「小鍛冶」より)
Saturday, September 21, Higashi Ikebukuro Chuo Park, specially arranged Noh Stage
“People Dance on This Earth: A Folk-Dance Festival”
Sunday, September 22, Higashi-Ikebukuro Chuo Park
“Nanafuku’s my-heart-stealer”
Tuesday, October 1, Owlspot Theatre
“Roaming Shopping Street Festival”
Saturday, October 5 and Sunday, October 6, TRAM-PAL Otsuka, shopping streets in Toshima (Ikebukuro Honcho, Otsuka and Minami-Nagasaki areas)
“Q: A Night At The Kabuki” Inspired by A Night At The Opera
Tuesday, October 8 – Tuesday, October 15, Saturday, November 9 – Wednesday, December 11, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Playhouse
“BLIND”
Thursday, October 17 – Sunday, October 20, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Theatre East
“The Three Sisters”
Friday, October 18 – Sunday, October 20, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Playhouse
“New Jungle”
Friday, October 18 – Sunday, October 20, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Theatre West
“I am a CAT”
Saturday, October 19 – Tuesday, October 29, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Square in front of the theatre
“The Farm”
Saturday, October 19 and Sunday, October 20, Owlspot Theatre
“History of Violence”
Thursday, October 24 – Saturday, October 26, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Playhouse
“Strange Green Powder”
Thursday, October 24 – Sunday, October 27, Sekicho-an (Mejiro Garden)
“Bamboo Talk” / “PhuYing”
Friday, October 25 – Sunday, October 27, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Theatre East
“Sand (a)isles”
Monday, October 28 – Sunday, November 10, locations around Toshima City
Drop-in Riso Zine Studio
Mid October – Mid November, location in Toshima City
“Nowhere Oasis”
Late October – Mid November, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre and other locations
“Hello from Bertha”
Saturday, November 2 – Monday, November 4, Owlspot Theatre
“To To Transfer”
Saturday, November 2 – Monday, November 4, Theater Green, BIG TREE THEATER
DOCU(NT)MENT “Changes” Season 2
Saturday, November 2 – Monday, November 4, Ikebukuro HUMAX Cinemas
“Always Coming Home”(Working title)
Friday, November 8 – Sunday, November 10, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Theatre East
“Soft Play”
Saturday, November 9 and Sunday, November 10, Theater Green, BIG TREE THEATER
“Noh de yomu Soseki and Yakumo”
Saturday, November 9 and Sunday, November 10, Owlspot Theatre
“Daidengaku Ikebukuro Emaki”
Sunday, November 10, TOKYO TATEMONO Brillia HALL Hareza Ikebukuro
“Bridges to Babylon”
Wednesday, November 20 – Saturday, November 23, TOKYO TATEMONO Brillia HALL
APAF-Asian Performing Arts Forum
APAF Exhibition Performance: Friday, October 25 and Saturday, October 26, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Theatre West
APAF Exhibition Wrap-up: Sunday, October 27, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Theatre West
APAF Lab. Presentation: Sunday, October 27, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Theatre West
The 31st Ikebukuro Play Festival
Sunday, September 1 – Sunday, September 30, Owlspot Theatre and other 15 venues
“Enchanting moments of true virtuosity ~Two Chikamatsu’s pieces by the master Seiji Tsuruzawa~”
Thursday, November 28, LINE CUBE SHIBUYA

Venues

Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Owlspot Theater (Toshima Performing Arts Center), open space outside Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Higashi-Ikebukuro Central Park, and other locations (scheduled)

Credit

Organized by
Tokyo Festival Executive Committee [Toshima City, Toshima Mirai Cultural Foundation, Festival/Tokyo Executive Committee, Arts Council Tokyo & Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture)]

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