Photos: First Look TATTOOER At Charing Cross Theatre

TATTOOER, written by Takuya Kaneshima, translated by Linda Hoaglund, inspired by the short story, Shisei, by Junichiro Tanizaki and directed by Hogara Kawai will gets its UK premiere Monday 14 October to Saturday 26 October direct from a run in Tokyo, Japan. Check out photos from the production!

TATTOOER features in a season of new UK-Japan collaboration projects featuring up-and-coming Japanese writers and directors, produced by Umeda Arts Theater.

Inspired by a short story by Junichiro Tanizaki, the world-renowned Japanese literary figure, and Irezumi tattoos, which have attracted worldwide attention as a popular Japanese art-form through mediums such as anime and video games, this play aims to promote Japanese theatrical culture in the UK.

Seikichi is a young tattoo artist and former Ukiyo-e artist of high repute. His longtime wish is to “carve his soul into the skin of a beautiful woman” but he has been unable to find a willing partner. The story begins when Seikichi finally meets his ideal canvas…

An exciting feature of the production will see renowned Japanese Ink-Brush Painter Gaku Azuma  painting a ’tattoo’ on the actor’s back during the interval at each show. A maverick art director who has produced numerous poster designs in Japan’s stage industry, and an artist who adroitly controls his ink as if he were depicting the beauty of life in the universe with thin strands of thread. The French Doll, a painting he completed at the age of 17, is currently permanently housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Since 2015, he has moved his canvas onto the skin of women through body painting, and has created collaborative works with over 200 models.

Playwright Takuya Kaneshima said: “Tanizaki’s story “Shisei” depicts a secretive, closed relationship between the tattooer and the tattooed. But there are fractures in this relationship, which connect unexpectedly with the outside world. In this play I wanted to explore the complexity and vulnerability of relationships glimpsed in Tanizaki’s work.”

Director Hogara Kawai said: “Tattooing is the act of scarring the skin with a needle and filling it with colour. By filling scars with colour, they become art. What kind of picture would emerge if you could ink the “scars” you have acquired in your life? What would the art that resides in your body look like? In exploring this beautiful play, I am looking forward to finding out.”

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