Harajuku Girls at London's Finborough Theatre
Date: 2015 February 28 12:31
Posted by Joe
Fans of Japanese Pop Culture inspired theatre will be interested in the new play Harajuku Girls which is currently running at the Finborough Theatre in London.
The play focuses on 3 young women who drift into the seedy underworld of Kabukicho. In a place were everything can be bought and sold they have to decide how far their willing to go
The performance is running from Tuesday 24th February 2015 to Saturday 21st March 2015.
Full Story
Press release as follows:
Premieres at the Finborough Theatre Season - November 2014 to February 2015
The world premiere
HARAJUKU GIRLS
by Francis Turnly.
Directed by Jude Christian.
Presented by Nicholas Goh and Papergang Theatre in association with Neil McPherson for the Finborough Theatre.
"I don't know a girl who hasn't been groped on a train. There's always someone trying to cop a feel. Might as well get paid for it."
Harajuku Girls tells the story of three young Japanese women desperate to pursue their dreams, despite the obstacles that society and tradition put in their way. A play about friendship, fantasy, and what it means to be free. Opens at the Finborough Theatre for a four week limited season on Tuesday, 24 February 2015 (Press Night: Thursday, 26 February 2015 at 7.30pm).
On Jingu Bridge in Tokyo, teenage girls dress in cosplay outfits for fun, fashion, and the fantasy of being someone else, but now their schooldays are over. Mari wants to be an actor but her father has other plans, Keiko's found a harmless moneymaker - a "compensated relationship" with an older man and Yumi hopes she can get married one day and escape the dreary world of work . As the three young women grow up and apart, they tread the fine line between empowerment and victimhood in a desperate search for independence and the freedom to pursue their dreams. Jude Christian directs the world premiere of this provocative and powerful new play by award-winning playwright Francis Turnly which takes us down the neon-lit streets and forbidden passageways of Tokyo where fantasy and reality can often become blurred.
Irish-Japanese playwright Francis Turnly's previous plays include Hiding (Watford Palace Theatre), Descent (Jackson's Lane) and Bogland (Irish tour). He has written several plays for Radio 4, recent work includes Brought to Light, Homestead and Point of Departure as well as the original detective drama, Hinterland. Francis has been a member of the Royal Court's studio, Unheard Voices and ‘the 50' writers' groups.
Director Jude Christian was the 2013 winner of the National Theatre Studio Bursary for Emerging Directors. Direction includes How Do You Eat An Elephant? (National Youth Theatre of Wales), I'd Rather Goya Robbed Me Of My Sleep Than Some Other Arsehole (Gate Theatre London, Boom Arts Portland), Happy and The Mushroom (Pentabus Young Writers Festival), ©alculated to Death (Tête-à-Tête Opera Festival London and Future Shorts Tokyo), My Romantic History (English Theatre, Berlin) and Sonata Movements (RADA). Jude studied directing at RADA, and is Artistic Director of Concert Theatre, an Associate Artist of Diverse City and the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain, and a Creative Associate at the Gate Theatre.
The press on director Jude Christian
"A sinewy, masculine text, given a remarkable production" Four Stars, Maddy Costa, The Guardian.
"The strange inner world...is strikingly drawn out by Christian's production, which has created a captivating visual and aural landscape...this arresting production makes its searching, impotent fury feel uncannily resonant." Catherine Love, Exeunt Magazine.
"The uncertainty as to whether this trip is about to happen, has happened, or exists only in the man's whirling imagination is increased in Jude Christian's inventively bizarre staging" Sarah Hemming, The Financial Times
Box Office 0844 847 1652 Book online at www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk
Tuesday, 24 February - Saturday, 21 March 2015
Tuesday to Saturday Evenings at 7.30pm. Sunday Matinees at 3.00pm. Saturday matinees at 3.00pm (from 6 December
2014).
Prices until 8 March 2015 - Tickets £16, £14 concessions, except Tuesday Evenings £14 all seats, and Friday and
Saturday evenings £16 all seats. Previews (24 and 25 March) £12 all seats.
£10 tickets for Under 30's for performances from Tuesday to Sunday of the first week when booked online only.
£12 tickets for residents of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea on Saturday, 28 March 2015 when booked online only.
Prices from 8 March 2015 - Tickets £18, £16 concessions, except Tuesday Evenings £16 all seats, and Friday and
Saturday evenings £18 all seats.
Performance Length: Approximately one hour forty minutes with one interval of fifteen minutes. Source: Finborough Theatre
Recent News
Japanese Cinema at the BFI London Film Festival 2024Bandai Namco UK MCM Comic Con London and EGX October 2024 Exhibition Details
Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival 2024 Details
Manga Jiman 2024 Competition Details
Bocchi The Rock Recap Part 1&2 Recap Film UK Cinema Release Details
Scotland Loves Anime Film Festival 2024 Details
Detective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagram Movie UK and Ireland Cinema Release Details
Dan Da Dan: First Encounter Review
Nukozuke! by Yugi Iro Manga Release Details
Spy x Family Code: White Movie Crunchyroll Streaming Details
Recent DVD / Blu-ray Reviews
Blue Period (1-12 Streaming)
Lycoris Recoil 1-13
Aokana - Four Rhythm Across The Blue
Carole & Tuesday Season 1 (episodes 1 to 12) Streaming Review
Jormungand Season 1
The Eccentric Family (1-13) - Complete
Space Brothers (1-26) Streaming
AKB0048 (1-13) Streaming
Bodacious Space Pirates (1-13) Streaming
Poyopoyo / Recorder and Ransel (1-13) Streaming
Recent Manga Reviews
Hero Without a Class: Who Even Needs Skills?! Volume 1
Tales of the Tendo Family Volume 1
It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too Volume 1
The Summer You Were There
Lost Lad London Volume 1
Invisible Parade
I Belong To the Baddest Girl at School Volume 1
Heavenly Delusion, Volume 1
My Androgynous Boyfriend Volume 1
The Trial of Kitaro