On 11 March 2011, a woman living in Hisanohama, a port town in Fukushima Japan, lost her husband when he was swept away by a tsunami. Kagerou – Study of Translating Performance is an intimate, documentary-style performance that tells a woman’s story through her own words and voice. Or so it seems…
Interweaving sound recordings and video footage from Hisanohama, Kagerou – Study of Translating Performance also features simultaneous Japanese/English interpretations to create an immersive and uniquely powerful meditation on translation in the aftermath of Fukushima.
Comparing the great distances between victim and actor, the English and Japanese language, and Fukushima and Melbourne, Hamanaka Company explore objectivity, pathos and sympathy to ask if we can feel intimacy with a tragedy that happened so far away, and what gets lost in the act of translation.
Founded in 2014 by Artistic Director Shun Hamanaka and with a focus on documentary performance, Hamanaka Company engages with both regional and universal problems social issues and humanity.
Director: Shun Hamanaka Performer: Yoko Ito Dramaturg: Ryusei Asahina Lighting Design: Hiroshi Isaka Translation by: Satoko Shimizu, Eri Tanabe & Tove Bjoerk General Producer: Oriza Hirata Producer: Ryohei Yamamori Assistant Producer: Satoko Shimizu
Kagerou – Study of Translating Performance
Arts House – North Melbourne Town Hall, 521 Queensberry Street, North Melbourne
Season continues to 18 February 2017
Information and Bookings: www.artshouse.com.au
Image: Kagerou – Study of Translating Performance – photo by Bryony Jackson