Haiyuza Theatre Company

Haiyuza Theatre Company
劇団俳優座
Gekidan Haiyūza
Formation1944[1]
TypeTheatre group
PurposeShingeki
Location
Websitehaiyuza.net

The Haiyuza Theatre Company (劇団俳優座, Gekidan Haiyūza) is a Japanese theatre company based in Tokyo.[1][2] Along with the Mingei Theatre Company and Bungakuza, it is considered one of the "Big Three" among Shingeki (new theatre) troupes.[2][3]

History

The Haiyuza Theatre Company was founded in February 1944 by ten theatre artists including Sugisaku Aoyama, Eitarō Ozawa, Teruko Kishi, Koreya Senda, Eijirō Tōno, Chieko Higashiyama and Sachiko Murase.[1][4] The first official performance was Nikolai Gogol's The Government Inspector in March 1946.[1][5] The group specialised in Shingeki, performing classical and contemporary Japanese and international plays by Yutaka Mafune, Chikao Tanaka, Kōbō Abe, Yushi Koyama, Shakespeare, Chekhov, Brecht, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller and others.[1][5] In addition to stage work, the Haiyuza Theatre Company maintained an actors training school,[2] founded in 1949 and disbanded in 1967.[1] In 1954, the group opened its own theatre house in Roppongi, Minato Ward, Tokyo.[1][5] It was renovated in 1980 and is now operated separately from the theatre group.[1][6]

Former Members (selected)

Haiyuza Theatre Company School (selected)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "俳優座". Kotobank (in Japanese). Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Japan's Modern Theatrical Groups". Japan Report. 9 (22). Japan Information Center, Consulate General of Japan, New York: 9. 1963. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  3. ^ Kapur, Nick (2018). Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 203.
  4. ^ "俳優座史". Haiyuza (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  5. ^ a b c The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre. Volume 5: Asia/Pacific. Routledge. 2014. pp. 224–25. ISBN 9780415755641.
  6. ^ "俳優座劇場". Kotobank (in Japanese). Retrieved 20 August 2023.