Taira Jo’s Medea, 17 Jan 2016, Tokyo 

A puppet version of the Greek tragedy performed by Taira Jo, who adapted, directed, designed and performed the entire show and all characters. As a puppet lover, I had been curious about his plays, so this seemed as good a chance as any. Knowing this was a one-man show, I had expected an hour-long play and was taken aback when I heard it was in fact in two-and-a-half hours. And that was on top of my skepticism as to whether Medea is really a good choice for a puppet show. That said, I happily sit through Bunraku plays for five hours (though those involve a significantly larger cast), so I was willing to give this a chance.

It turned out to be a very appealing concept superbly realized. Continue reading →

Piaf

3 December 2008 (Wed), West End

This show was not a true musical but a biographical play with songs, all sung by the leading character in the context of performances or concerts. It told the story of the singer’s life from her street years to her lonely death. Given Piaf’s self-destructive personality, this could make for a pretty depressing story, as I understand was the case with the movie. But here it was a wild, rapid-fire portrayal of key incidents in the main character’s life, making for an impressionistic picture of the singer’s eventful life. Piaf was a gutter child, and there’s no skimping on the random sex, raw language, alcohol, drugs and some pretty disagreeable character flaws. I can’t say I came to like her, and the show doesn’t dig deep enough to round out the portrait with any measure of sympathy or understanding. At best, I admired her fire and her perseverance, though I did feel sorry for her just a bit for not having enough strength to dig herself out in the end. There were other interesting characters, especially Piaf’s fat and loose friend from her poor days. Everything in the show, though, revolved around Piaf, so that was the character that mattered. Continue reading →