• Shoulderpads

12/7/25 (Sun)

A spoofy retelling of the classic Night on the Galactic Railroad by children’s writer Miyazawa Kenji. The selling point here, as seen in the eye-catching poster, is the unusual costume design, nothing but a shoulder pad covering the performers’ neither regions. I’m always suspicious of shows relying on a gimmick, but it had strong reviews at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival (not necessarily in itself the best indicator of quality) and, even better, was only an hour long. A friend and I decided to go to the Japanese version rather than the Edinburgh version to see the performers in their native language.

The show was as goofy as it sounded but proved rather moving in the end. The six actors emerge at the opening in suits, which are quickly ripped off to reveal their nearly naked bodies (closely shaven, thank goodness – the video from Edinburgh had one hirsute and portly actor that I was dreading). The sole female, who fortunately remained dressed, acted as both narrator and the main character, who takes a wild adventure on a train to the skies that ultimately becomes a life lesson. The actors, using minimal props and wigs, become nuns, cows, swans, old men and more in one joking turn after another, though always in the service of the story. The staging was creative and dynamic, including athletic flips and intricately coordinated movements. Never a dull moment. Lots was made of the actors’ nudity, such as bits where the strategic cups looked to fall off before quick blocking by the others. But in fact the humor, for all its outlandishness, remained clean in terms of content. It wouldn’t be out of place for children with better marketing.

The show follows the general contour of the story, which would be familiar to most of the audience here and thus a fun variation on the kid’s tale. I’m not sure how that came off in Edinburgh, such as the sudden milking of the cows or the interaction with the numerous bizarre characters along the way, which wouldn’t make much sense without knowing the original work. Still, it resembled British pantomime in a way, which would have certainly appealed to their offbeat sense of humor. In the US, it would be more for a gay audience, though the performances were not as crude as drag queens or other typically gay-oriented spoofs.

The actors were all totally committed to the piece and made a fantastic ensemble. Shimada Shinpei (third from the left and second from the right on the poster), who was not part of the Edinburgh team, stood out for his good looks, muscular physique, and amazing body control; he seems to be a dramatic actor (he’s registered with a major agency), but I have to imagine that he’s had dance training. He effortlessly transitioned from one part to the next with split-second timing. Director/narrator Natsuki Chobi, the only one who kept her clothes on (note that she’s not on the poster despite being the star), also maintained perfect poise in this jokey show. The key to spoofs like this is to treat it with utmost seriousness; kudos to Natsuki in her director’s role for keeping the proper tone. A fun night out.