program > main stage
Project NYX
Shuji Terayama’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle
Presented by Japan Society
photos: Yoji Ishizawa
“dirty, difficult, and dangerous.” – Asian Theatre Journal
Bluebeard is given a Harajuku makeover in Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, a wild burlesque-like subversion of the French gothic horror legend. Shuji Terayama, father of Japan’s angura (underground) theater movement in the 1960s and ’70s, was repeatedly drawn to the story of Bluebeard’s wives and the locked castle door, culminating in this mind-bending game of cat-and-mouse that questions the very nature of theater itself. Saturated with dark magic tricks, fiddlers and accordion players, aerial dance and more, Project NYX, led by Kanna Mizushima, brings a cross-dressing cast of nearly 30 members to Japan Society for a production directed by illustrious Korean-Japanese experimental theater director Kim Sujin. Find out who escapes the castle in this macabre, magic-infused Lolita fashion spectacle!
Note: This production is performed in Japanese with English supertitles. The performance contains partial nudity. It is recommended for audiences ages 18 and older.
SCHEDULE
Wednesday, January 15 @ 7:30 pm, followed by an opening night reception
Thursday, January 16 @ 7:30 pm, followed by an artist Q&A
Friday, January 17 @ 7:30 pm
Saturday, January 18 @ 7:30 pm
Run time: 2 hours 15 minutes
VENUE
Japan Society
333 East 47th Street,
New York, New York 10017
Access:
Japan Society’s public performance spaces, classrooms and restrooms are ADA compliant and accessible to everyone.
CREDITS
Directed by Sujin Kim
Performed by Project Nyx
Written by Shuji Terayama
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Shuji Terayama was a Japanese avant-garde poet, artist, dramatist, writer, film director, and photographer. His works range from radio drama, experimental television, underground (angura) theater, countercultural essays, to Japanese New Wave and “expanded” cinema. Many critics view him as one of the most productive and provocative creative artists to ever come out of Japan.
Kim Sujin, Korean-Japanese director, is known and acclaimed for his direction of angura plays, such as those by Terayama and his contemporary Juro Kara. Japan Society presented Kim Sujin’s production of Kara’s Cry From the City of Virgins in 1999 with his company Shinjuku Ryozanpaku Theater Company. Shuji Terayama’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle is performed by the all-female performance company Project NYX, which was established by actress Kan’na Mizushima, under the direction of Sujin Kim.
CREATION + FUNDING
Japan Society’s programming is made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Additional, major support is generously provided by Doug and Teresa Peterson, Howard Gilman Foundation, and Jun Makihara and Megumi Oka. Endowment support is provided by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund, John and Miyoko Davey Foundation, and a leadership gift from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Program support is also generously provided by The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; Hisamitsu America, Inc.; Akiko Mikumo; Hiroko Onoyama; Richard and Momona Royce; Dr. and Mrs. Carl F. Taeusch II; Dr. Jeanette C. Takamura; Nancy and Joe Walker; Estate of Alan M. Suhonen; and Performing Arts Circle members. All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. is the official airline of the Japan Society Performing Arts Program. Yamaha is the official piano provider of Japan Society. Japan Society programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
