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Bungakuza 　

The Glass Menagerie 　　　

Written by：Tennessee Williams
Translated by：ODASHIMA Koshi
Directed by：TAKAHASHI Masanori 　　　
2019.6.28.Fri-7.7.Sun
　　　
Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre Theatre West

Notice!
Tickets for an additional performance on Friday, July 5th (starts at 13:30) are now on sale!!

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The Bungakuza Theatre Company proudly presents this great piece which represents all works of Tennessee Williams for the first time in 29 years after it was staged in 1990 for the Company's Atelier Showcase. With the new translation by Koshi Odashima and new direction by Masanori Takahashi the new creation of "Glass Menagerie" now begins.

This is the story of the Wingfield family, a mother who has lived with her children ever since their father left them. Amanda, the mother, is still bound by the memory of her glorious past when she was from the upper-class family. Laura, the daughter, always feels timid about her crippled leg, which makes her shut from the real world and open herself up only to glass animal figurine. Tom, the son, cannot leave his mother and sister who have both become detached from reality, and obliges himself to work in town to support them. Such day-to-day life with no way out is turned upside down by Jim, a young man who unexpectedly calls on the family. Jim's visit brings a ray of hope to the family, but this ray is also the light to expose that the glass animal figurines never exist perpetually.
The melody of memories that Tom plays leads to a past to which one cannot return.

Tennessee Williams　

Born in Columbus, Mississippi in the United States on March 26th, 1911. His penname of "Tennessee" was named by his friend because of his Southern accent. Williams graduated from three universities, including University of Missouri, and became a novelist after experiencing some various of jobs. His works contain many autobiographical elements, most of which were influenced by his older sister Laura who spent most of her life in a psychiatric hospital due to mental illness. Laura was reflected in the heroine of his works and depicted repetitiously.
His works received many awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for "A Streetcar Named Desire" in 1948, and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" in 1955. He came to Japan at the invitation of the Bungakuza Theater Company in June 1969. He visited Japan again the following year while struggling with the medical treatment for an addiction to alcohol and sleeping pills.
He died at the age of 71 in a hotel room in New York on February 25th, 1983.



ODASHIMA Koshi

Born in Tokyo on March 17th, 1967, as the second son of Dr. Yushi Odashima, the renowned translator of Shakespeare plays. Odashima graduated from the Department of English Literature at Waseda University in 1984, and completed the full curriculum of the doctoral course in 1991. He also received the master's degree from London University.
Currently Odashima works as a professor at Waseda University's Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and also as a translator. He won the Yoshiko Yuasa Prize for his translated theatrical play, and is one of the busiest translators. Some of his translations have been adapted to the Bungakuza Atelier showcases; "Moby Dick" (2015) and, "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg" (2018).



TAKAHASHI Masanori

"Glass Menagerie" premiered in Chicago in 1944 and in New York the following year where the play made a big hit, and has continued to be staged all over the world ever since. In Japan, the play has been adapted by a number of theater groups and companies since its premier in 1950, and has appeared many times in Bungakuza's lineups with various directors and casts.
Why does this play attract people?
It may be because the audience could empathize with the problems that Tom, the narrator of this play, Amanda, his mother, and Laura, his sister, hold and realize that they can happen to anybody.
Though the way family works, and an ideal image of a family is easily changed by values at different periods of time, the problems of the Wingfields have more fundamental and universal elements.
Needless to say, a family can be a shelter that protects people from any external danger, but can also be a cage that confines people at the same time. What happens in the cage is never noticed from outside, and is hidden inside. And these people called "family" who are in the cage sometimes try to strongly supplement that cage from inside themselves. The way they are reflects modernity to pressure us. If theater is a mirror that reflects the times, the play, "Glass Menagerie" could be a mirror to shed light on the times, couldn't it?
Aiming at adapting more contemporary dialogues, we have commissioned Mr. Odashima to make a new translation. I do hope that we can present our new production of "Glass Menagerie" to the audience as a contemporary work.


Born in Tokyo in 1978. Takahashi left the Department of Education at Tokyo Gakugei University without a diploma.
In 2000, he entered the BUNGAKUZA Acting Institute (the 40th class), and was promoted to an official member of the company in 2005. He made his debut as a director with the play "TERRA NOVA" in 2004 for the Bungakuza Atelier Showcase.
He has directed the new works of many contemporary writers such as Takeshi KAWAMURA, Tatsuo KANESHITA, Norihiko TSUKUDA, Kenji HIGASHI, and Go AOKI.



　

SHIOTA Tomoko
NAGATOMI Chiaki
KAMEDA Yoshiaki
IKEDA Rintaro

 

□Staff
Stage setting and arts：NORIMINE Masahiro　Lighting：SAKAGUCHI Miwa
Sound effects：HARASHIMA Shoji　Costumes：MIYAMOTO Nobuko　Choreography:KANZAKI Yufuko
Stage Management：TERADA Osamu　Assistant Director：OBARA Madoka
Production Management：SHIRATA Satoshi, SAISHU Shimako
Graphic Design：MIKI Shunichi　Photograph：NAKAYAMA Akiko

 

　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　 　　
  6/28 29 30 7/1 2 3 4 5 6 7
  Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
13:00  ●            
13:30   ★ ● ★ ● ●●●●
18:00   ★              
18:30 ○     ○      ●  

            Latest ticket information⇒Blog

　　　　○＝Evening discount
　　　　★＝Post-performance talk
　　　　　　

Post-performance talk① 6.29.Sat.18：00
TAKAHASHI Masanori(Direction)×ODASHIMA Koshi(Translation)×TANNO Ikumi(Director of The Mingei Theatre Company)

Post-performance talk② 6.30.Sun.13：30
NOBUTA Sayoko(Clinical psychologist/Director of HARAJUKU COUNSELING CENTER)×TAKANO Shinobu(Author of SHINOBU's theatre review)

Post-perfomance talk③ 7.2.Tue.13：30
Casts×TAKAHASHI Masanori(Direction)×SHIMIZU Akihiko(Played the role of Jim O'Connor in 1990)

Advance ticket sales starts on 2019.5.27.Mon
（all seats are reserved, prices include tax）
◎Adult　6,000yen
◎Evening discount　4,000yen（for June 28th and July 1st only）
◎Married couple discount 　10,000yen
◎Youth discount　3,800yen (age 25 and under)　※
◎Junior and Senior-high school students　2,500yen　※

※Youth discount tickets require age-verification ID, and junior and senior-high school students need to show their student ID at the entrance.

□Tickets

○BUNGAKUZA Box Office Direct phone number:０１２０－４８１０３４
（10:00～17:30/Monday to Saturday）※Only available in Japanese.
※Please be sure to reserve your tickets first through the BUNGAKUZA Box Office Direct phone number before transferring payments.
This information will also be given to you when you make the ticket reservation.

○Ticket Pia　０５７０－０２－９９９９ (Ｐ-code ４９３－０３４)

○e+

○Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre Box Office
［Telephone(10：00～19：00/except for closed days) 0570-010-296
［Online］http://www.geigeki.jp/ti/

○Online Ticket
※How to use→→The Glass Menagerie


●Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre Theatre West
1-8-1 Nishi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 171-0021
TEL:03-5391-2111
2-minute walk from West Exit of Ikebukuro Station on JR lines, Tokyo Metro lines, Tobu Tojo Line, and Seibu Ikebukuro Line
*Directly accessible from Exit 2b of Ikebukuro Station underground passage




Nagaoka Lyric Hall　[Access]
□Schedule
2019.7.11.Thu 18：30
□Advance ticket sales starts on 2019.5.10.Fri
(all seats are reserved, prices include tax)
Adult　3,000yen
Telephone:0258-29-7715（9:00～18:00）
3-1356-6 Senshu, Nagaoka city, Niigata pref. 940-2108


Amagasaki Piccolo Theater　[Access]
□Schedule
2019.7.14.Sun 14：00
　　　7.15.Mon 14：00
□Advance ticket sales starts on 2019.5.10.Fri
(all seats are reserved, prices include tax)
Adult　4,500yen
High school stundent　2,000yen
Telephone:06-6426-1940（9:00～19:00）
3-17-8 Minami-tsukaguchi-cho, Amagasaki city, Hyogo pref. 661-0012


Kani Public Arts Center　[Access]
□Schedule
2019.7.24.Wed　18：30
　　　7.25.Thu　14：00
□Advance ticket sales starts on 2019.5.11.Sat
(all seats are reserved, prices include tax)
Adult　4,000yen
Under 18　2,000yen
Telephone:0574-60-3050（9:00～19:00）
3433-139 Shimoedo, Kani city, Gifu pref.　509-0203


　

BUNGAKUZA　03-3351-7265　(Monday to Saturday)
10 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0016