About us
Member
●Founder and artistic director of Theatro Technis Mr. George Eugeniou
"A theatrical company recognized by London and the world"
This is the object of MUGENSHA THEATRE COMPANY.For the first 5 1/2 years we did not perform in public. During this period the actors and actresses practiced night after night concentrating only on the basic theatric skills under the direction of producer Soun Kotakebayashi. After the long wait, we were finally introduced to the public. Within the first 1 1/2-year since our debut, we had completed a very busy schedule including 7 public performances, 5 gratuitous (free of charge) performances, and also a nomination at the theatrical festival. All of this lead to our aim: to make London performance a reality, and soon. Why in London? The reason is this. London is where the world-class theatrical performances make their first appearance. Being recognized by the veteran audiences of England will surely lead our MUGENSHA THEATRE COMPANY to its bigger goal "to be recognized by the world".
MUGENSHA has many unique characteristics. One of which is our script. We create it from ad-lib. Some of London's theatres use this same method. But the most unusual thing about our script is that we use the techniques of the traditional Japanese culture such as SADO (tea ceremony), TATE (sword fighting), BUNRAKU (puppet play), NOH (play), and etc. And incorporated all of that with our unique view of the world and communicate them into the script. Our producer also creates the script hand in hand with our actors and actresses who would actually do the performing. The originality also shows in the presentation. Throughout the whole show, we instantaneously move spaces from one location to another, change time from one period to another. This new method will certainly attract attention not only from London but also the entire theatrical world.
The object of the international tour this time is " to improve interpretation of fairy tales". We intend to do so by introducing new versions of very well known children's stories. This new interpretation will reveal the author's true intentions through the secrets hidden between the lines, giving the audience a whole new view to the all too familiar stories. "The Emperor's New Clothes" was our first choice. The original interpretation "a sardonic laugh at the vanity of an Emperor who is deceived by a fraud" will be challenged with a whole new understanding. We expect the new version of this story, by means of theatre, to reach straight to the audiences of the world in spite of language and cultural barrier. Our version will be told like this. The fraud and the emperor were in fact companions. The emperor purposely paraded naked to warn his close aids and his people. He was hoping for an awakening among THEM (modern people).
The fact that an anonymous theatre company like us should dive into the great London theatrical stage and perform for 10 days at our own expense is only a reflection of our passion toward our goal. We believe this passion will open up doors to the exchanging and understanding of culture between Japan and England and also lead to the prosperity of theatre and the vitalization of the society.
Founder and artistic director of Theatro Technis
Mr. George Eugeniou
MUGENSHA' S EMPEROR' S NEW CLOTHES
It has been a real joy and wonderful experience for us to host this young exciting and innovative Japanese company from Tokyo . We are highly impressed by the dedication and commitment to Mugensha by every member of its company. It is nowadays, when in the West the idea of a Theatre Ensemble is killed and buried by commercial enterprise and market forces, a rare phenomenon to see this 10 years' old Japanese company retaining it and practicing it with such zeal, zest and passion which demands a lot of individual sacrifice for there is no financial rewards. Their reward is their creativity which they share among themselves and us, the audience. The Emperor's New clothes is a beautiful production in every sense of the word. The direction, the acting, the music, the costumes, the set designing, the props, everything is so well done that language is no barrier to appreciate this colorful and innovative production. But is the team spirit that shines through the whole play at each performance. It is so wonderful to see the actors changing parts, playing different roles on alternative nights. The actor who plays the lead on one night plays a minor part on the second night. I think that's marvelous for it protects the performer from stereotyping and ego mania and enhances his/her versatility and humility. For the Mugensha actors share all tasks of the production. Set-building, stage managing, publicity, box-office, cleaning, you name it. It is total theatre. We wish them good luck and we only hope that the decease that has killed the ensemble spirit in the West will not touch them, so that they can survive against all odds and carry on doing their inspiring good and useful work.
George Eugeniou
Founder and artistic director of Theatro Technis
