[ti:Japanese Theater Shares Cultural Similarities in Britain]
[al:Arts and Culture]
[ar:VOA]
[dt:2024-10-08]
[by:www.voase.cn]
[00:00.00]A playhouse in London, Britain and a theater from Osaka, Japan, are working together to prove cultural differences between the two countries are only on the surface.
[00:14.65]London's Charing Cross Theatre and Osaka's Umeda Arts Theater first worked together on a performance in 2019. 
[00:24.12]After a break caused by the pandemic, they are jointly staging two plays in London this month.
[00:30.77]The plays are rooted in Japanese culture and deal with secretive relationships, but the concerns are universal.
[00:40.44]Actor Susan Momoko Hingley spoke of Japan's export of culture, including films and television series. 
[00:49.26]She told the Reuters news agency, "It's really about getting great stories from all sorts of different cultures to Britain and to the West."
[00:59.65]She stars in One Small Step, written by Takuya Kato.
[01:04.40]It tells the story of a couple working for a company that is colonizing the moon. 
[01:10.80]The plot becomes more complex with the news the woman is pregnant.
[01:15.98]It raises concerns audiences almost anywhere can relate to about motherhood, career and inequality between men and women.
[01:26.68]Kato, who is also the play's director, said, "In terms of equity, I think nowadays many people often say that we are striving for fairness within companies, within societies and between individuals."
[01:42.61]"But I think it is something that we understand with our heads but might not necessarily grasp it with our hearts," he added.
[01:51.52]The London production, Kato said, gave new life to his play "at the intersection of two different cultures." 
[01:58.50]He noted that for Japanese creative industries, the market within Japan may not be enough to support them.
[02:07.06]Working with companies in other countries helps the theater companies and expands knowledge of the culture.
[02:15.29]"If we don't grow the part of coproductions, which we have traditionally struggled with, it would be difficult to survive as both an industry and culture in the future," he said.
[02:28.53]Following One Small Step, which runs until October 9, Charing Cross Theatre will host Tattooer later in the month.
[02:38.21]The play, by another Japanese writer, Takuya Kaneshima, tells the story of a tattoo artist.
[02:46.69]I'm Jill Robbins.