TALES OF
THE
ELSEWHERE ISLANDS
WORKS:
Overview:
This is a music theatre piece that reconstructs the relationship between drama and music. The words and voice of the Japanese language is at it's base. Centred on the theme of suicide, the living and the dead intertwine in memories. Throughout the performance, actors, singers, and musicians share the same stage, singing, playing instruments, and narrating, seamlessly switching with each other.
Keyword:
- Musical Play
- Original
- All Ages
- Live Music
- Family
- Sience Fiction
Performing Group:
Nuthmique
Genre:
Music Theater / Experimental
Status:
From 2028/ Co-production・Co-commision
Time:
120 min
Dialogue:
Japanese
Subtitle:
Japanese *This production features two LED panels on stage displaying Japanese surtitles and audio description surtitles respectively. Other languages are available upon translation.
Capacity:
150 to 250
Cast:
9
Trigger Warning:
This production contains references to and depictions of suicide and domestic violence. While no such acts are portrayed directly on stage, the characters speak in detail about those who have died by suicide, the circumstances that led to it, and personal experiences of witnessing domestic violence. Please refrain from watching if these may bring up past experiences or difficult emotions.
1
Synopsis:
Aira visits the coastal cliff where her father took his life fifteen years ago. There, she spots Eiko heading toward the edge and instinctively calls out to her, only to find that her father Shoichi, who should already be dead, is also present. Eiko's daughter Kaoru also appears, and somehow time seems to slip back fifteen years. It becomes clear that Eiko, too, had come to this shore to end her life.
Mu, who is said to have lived ten thousand years ago, appears in front of them, and the group sets out together on a single boat toward the elsewhere islands. Mu seems to be frightened of something. Tokisaka, who had been wandering the shore, turns out to be Mu's father who drove her to death. The band members who have not yet died begin to speak.
Each of them share the memories and regrets that led to their deaths, at times consoling one another, at times casting blame, reaching for forgiveness. Yet their words find no place to land, drifting on like waves.
2
Concept:
The story plays out as an ongoing dialogue between the living and the dead inside memory. The dead do not appear as those who have ceased to exist, but linger within the memories and bodily sensations of the living. Time does not move in a straight line; past, present, and mythic time overlap and interweave, as the work depicts living people who carry the weight of others' deaths.
The production also seeks to reimagine the tone and rhythmic cadence of the Japanese language as a musical material, exploring a performance form that crosses the boundary between drama and music. Actors, singers, and musicians are not bound to fixed roles, but move fluidly between speaking, singing, and instrument playing. The aim is to give form to emotions and memory that cannot be expressed in words through voice, a physical phenomenon.
3
Crew & Cast:
-
Masashi Nukada
Book / Director / Music
-
Miho Inatsugu
Cast
-
Hairi Katagiri
Cast
-
Seiji Kanazawa
Cast
-
Ryohei Higashino
Cast
-
Wataru Naganuma
Cast
-
Tsumugi Harada
Cast
-
Tokutaro Hosoi
Guitar
-
Haluna Ishigaki
Bass
-
Kent Watari
Drums
Company Profile:
Nuthmique
Nuthmique is a theatre company founded in 2016, based in Tokyo.
At the core of its productions is the question "What is performance?" The company creates work that incorprates music in its playwriting and directing, expanding the framework of performing arts. The company actively collaborates not only with actors but also with dancers, rappers, and filmmakers.
The company is led by Masashi Nukata, director, playwright, and composer. He continues to work as a musician while creating music theatre works based on meticulous structures of sound and language. In recent years, he has explored the themes of people suffocating to death in the city. He has twice been selected as a finalist for the Kishida Prize for Drama. He has also directed works by Tennessee Williams and Sarah Kane, and received the Outstanding Director Award at the 33rd Yomiuri Theatre Awards.
Performance Record:
2025
November
2025
2025
CONTACT:
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