La Deco, Shibuya
Fridays (8 p.m.), Saturdays (3 and 8 p.m.) and Sundays (3 p.m.) till May 28
Founded in London in 2003 by Makiko Mikami, Wide Eyed Theatre (www.wideeyedtheatre.com) moved to Tokyo from 2004 when Mikami returned home. Their latest bilingual production, "Shita no Shita (Under the Tongue)" explores family relationships, media scrutiny and public stigma through the story of Tom O'Hara, the sole survivor of a cult mass suicide who must rebuild his life.
The four-member cast -- Mikami, Finn Daley Roberts, Kaori Yazaki and Quin Arbeitman -- are constantly changing their individual roles in the play, and work together to continuously keep the audience on their toes. It is rare to have a performance where the simultaneous translation does not interfere with the storytelling or the rhythm of the show, but in this case, voice tone, timing and movement only adds to the overall performance. The staging uses the "promenade method" of theater in which the audience move around with the actors as the story unravels. The performance space itself is transformed into a myriad of locations in seconds with the innovative use of minimal props, lighting and music, and each week features a visual artist who will be producing work as part of the performance.
Wide Eyed Theatre takes the theme of death and lightens it by cleverly balancing intensity with some poignant moments and occasional comic relief. Haunting, unpredictable and often bizarre, "Shita no Shita" is not for the faint hearted.
