Jukai

2008 - CA, USA • 2010 - London, U.K.

Director:
Musical Director:
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Workshop Cast:

Ailin Conant
Ikuyo Conant
Laurence Webb
Urara Sakurai
Daisuke Nomura, Dorie Kinnear, Julia Yevnine, Bradley Wayne-Smith, Tomoko Komura, Ikuyo Conant, Nao Masuda
Jordan Zimmerman, Taeko D'Andrea, Marc-André Charron

At the base of Mount Fuji lies an ominous stretch of forest known locally as "The Sea of Trees." Centuries of secrets lie hidden under the mossy earth, where rivers of lava have hardened over to form the cavernous forest floor. Thousands of people who have entered these woods have never been seen again. Some simply got lost. Others went in intending to disappear...

Theatre Témoin is working in collaboration with Japanese Taiko drummers to devise a movement-drumming piece which incorporates Japanese traditional drumming with mask and physical theatre. Jukai follows the story of three women, linked by their shared connection to Aokigahara - a forest at the base of Fuji renowned for its natural beauty and haunted by its reputation for being the biggest hotspot for suicide in Japan, and possibly the world.

Jukai was workshopped in California and premiered in London at the Blue Elephant Theatre (read reviews).