LONDON —

A Japanese-language version of the stage thriller ‘‘Woman in Black’’ is set to make a much anticipated five-performance debut in London’s West End in September, setting the record for the first play to be performed in both English and a foreign language at the same theater.

Starring two of Japan’s leading performers, Takaya Kamikawa and Haruhiko Saito, the one-off productions will be staged completely in Japanese, with the subtle addition of English surtitles visible largely from the upper tier of the theater, and are expected to attract a mixed-language audience.

‘‘The Japanese have always been great supporters of this play, not only in Japan but also here - we have a lot of Japanese tourists who come to see it in English,’’ said Robin Herford, director of both the Japanese and English versions of ‘‘Woman in Black’’ since the first production in London in 1989.

‘‘It is wonderful that we can now give this production in Japanese to the very sizable and influential Japanese community that exists in London,’’ Herford added, sharing his firm beliefs in the extending of cultural links internationally as a ‘‘cause for good, for peace, for civilization.’’

The Japanese Embassy in London has recognized the cultural value of the bi-lingual performance as well making it a highlighted feature of the ‘‘Japan-U.K. 150’’ celebrations which are taking place throughout the latter half of 2008 and into 2009 to mark the century and a half of friendship between the two countries.

‘‘Although Britain and Japan are very far away from each other, we have a number of similarities between the two countries, such as our shared love of ghost stories and our enthusiasm for story-telling,’’ said Tomohide Sobue, producer of Parco - the Japanese developer with the responsibility for making the Japanese-language version of the ‘‘Woman In Black’’ in Japan, and shortly in London, possible.

‘‘We would like as many people as possible to see and enjoy the play,’’ Sobue added, looking forward to strong sales after tickets were made available to the public on March 31.

While September’s Japanese-language London run will be a first for the ‘‘Woman in Black,’’ the relationship the play’s director, Herford, has with Sobue from Parco - as well as with actors Kamikawa and Saito - has been long and full of hard work, beginning with Herford’s 1992 direction of the play in Japanese at the Parco Theater in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward.

Since that inaugural production, Herford has been invited back a further five times to direct the play in Japanese in Japan and will return for yet another performance in June. It is this longstanding exchange which prompted the possibility of the Japanese-language play running in Britain.

‘‘In 1999, Tomohide Sobue, my friend and helper and producer from Parco, and I were having a drink in a bar in Shibuya and we came up with the idea of this switch-over, that the Japanese play would come and play on the English stage and hopefully the English production will one day play on the Japanese stage,’’ Herford explained.

‘‘For several years we talked about this, but the persistence of Parco is terrific and here we are on the brink of this great event where a familiar story is illuminated by fresh imaginations,’’ he added, mounting much praise on the two Japanese actors who have been leading the play in the same roles since 1992.

‘‘Takaya Kamikawa and Haruhiko Saito give such great performances that people enjoy these productions despite the language barrier because we are giving the same visual performance each time - it is the same play, just performed in different languages, and that makes it a real exchange of culture,’’ Sobue said, reiterating his friend Herford’s sentiments.

Kamikawa stated that he was ‘‘overwhelmed’’ to be given the ‘‘once in a lifetime opportunity’’ of performing the thriller in Japanese in Britain, remarking, ‘‘I’m going to enjoy the experience along with the audience in September.’’

The five performances of the Japanese-language version of the ‘‘Woman in Black’’ at the Fortune Theatre in London’s West End will take place from Sept 9 to 13.

© 2008 Kyodo News. All rights reserved. No reproduction or republication without written permission.

3 Comments

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  Ah_so at 08:12 PM JST - 24th April

  Seen the play in English (and the television film). Great ghost story - perfect for the Japanese.

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  Ah_so at 11:32 PM JST - 25th April

  Just booked a couple tickets!

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  Lolli at 07:59 PM JST - 26th April

  I saw the English play too, I would see this one if I was in the UK. Oh well..

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