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Pi Theatre & Rumble Productions Based on “Honey Pie” and “Superfrog Saves Tokyo” SWEET AND STRANGE, A LOVE STORY In 1995, Kobe, Japan was hit by a disastrous earthquake and the Tokyo subway was hit by deadly poison gas attacks. after the quake, based on bestselling author Haruki Murakami’s stories about life in the wake of disaster, is being co-presented by Pi Theatre and Rumble Productions for its Canadian Premiere at Studio 16 from November 20 – December 5. Directed by Craig Hall and Richard Wolfe, after the quake takes its audience on a journey where magic and realism collide in an exploration of disrupted reality. Junpei is a timid writer who enchants Sayoko, the love of his life, by conjuring up stories to sooth the anguish of her young daughter Sala, a girl who is having nightmares of the Earthquake Man. A talking bear makes the very best honey pies and Katagiri, a bank loans officer, struggles to distinguish between what is real and what is not when a six-foot Frog asks for help to fight off the giant Worm for the future of Tokyo. Together, these stories explore the emotional aftershocks of disaster, and offer a message of hope and healing. Haruki Murakami, born in post-war Japan in 1949, is quite possibly the most successful and influential cult author in the world today. He has written over 30 books in his native language and 10 have been translated into English; they have earned him critical acclaim in Japan and throughout the world. He is a recipient of the Franz Kafka prize and has an honourary degree from Princeton University. An important figure in postmodern literature, he is considered to be one of the finest living writers working today.
“We are excited to be working on our second co-production with Rumble in presenting this thought-provoking work by Murakami,” states Richard Wolfe, Artistic Director of Pi Theatre. “This production introduces audiences to Japanese Canadian artists and provides a bridge to modern Japanese culture.” The cast includes Manami Hara, Kevan Ohtsji, Tetsuro Shigematsu and Leina Dueck. PRODUCTION TEAM Showtimes – Ticket Information- Tickets from $15 For tickets contact:
From Nov. 19 – 22, tickets are FREE (at the door) for the first 20 Pi Theatre or Rumble Productions members. For further information, please visit www.pitheatre.com or www.rumble.org National Nikkei Museum & Heritage Centre is proud to be a community partner for this production.
BACKGROUNDER after the quake is a collection of short stories by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. It was first published in 2000 and was released in English in 2002. The stories were written in response to Japan’s 1995 earthquake, and each is affected peripherally by that disaster. after the quake represents an effort on the part of Murakami to adopt a more purposeful exploration of the Japanese national conscience. The stories in after the quake repeat motifs, themes and elements common in much of Murakami’s earlier work, but also present some notable stylistic changes. All six stories are old in the third person, as opposed to Murakami’s much more familiar first person narrative established in his previous work. Additionally, only one of the stories contains clear supernatural elements, which are present in the majority of Murakami’s writing. All of the stories are set in February 1995, the month between the Kobe earthquake and the Tokyo gas attacks. Translator Jay Rubin says of the collection, “the central characters in after the quake live far from the physical devastation, which they witness only on TV or in the papers, but for each of them the massive destruction unleashed by the earth itself becomes a turning point in their lives. They are forced to confront an emptiness they have borne inside them for years.” BIOS HARUKI MURAKAMI ~ Author FRANK GALATI ~ Adaptation for the Stage
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