The government's Cool Japan initiative may be focused on spreading anime around the world, but Japanese culture scored a significant victory in France earlier this month in the world of theater.
Director Satoshi Miyagi, 58, became the first Asian dramatist to present the opening play at the renowned Avignon Festival, which started in 1947. His production of the Greek classic "Antigone" was performed on July 6 in the open-air Honors Courtyard at the 14th-century Palais des Papes (Papal Palace) — a roofless, 1,976-seat setting surrounded by stone walls that are 25 meters high.
Miyagi didn't just make history that night, however, he made a lot of people very happy judging by the long standing ovation he received. In his "Antigone," expressionless actors in beautiful white kimono-style costumes moved slowly around in almost ankle-deep water that covered a huge stage on which boulders were positioned and piled up to resemble a Buddhist stone garden.
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