Japanese theatre maker Hideki Noda OBE, the writer/director behind 2022’s sold out Japanese re-telling of Romeo & Juliet set to the music of Queen A Night At The Kabuki, is back in London next month with Love in Action, a re-imagined version of literary classic The Brothers Karamazov at Sadler’s Wells.
The key events of the original, mainly the love triangle between the oldest son and his father, have been moved to 1945 Nagasaki during the atomic bomb, and there’s a new ending.
Noda was born and grew up in the city, so it’s a personal story for him, which he was working on years before Oppenheimer brought the bomb back to the public’s attention. It’s his version of the effects of the disaster and a response to the film.
Where: Sadler’s Wells
When: 31 Oct – 2 Nov
Ticket link: https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/noda-map-love-in-action/
NODA MAP return to London with a new literary adaptation following their take on Romeo & Juliet. This time it’s The Brothers Karamazov, so why this story, and why now?
It’s been my favourite novel since when I was young. The Brothers Karamazov was written in 18th century Russia. However, it has something in common all over the world.
The story is about love, hate, jealousy, money, truth, betrayal, family, community, human beings, God, and so on. It deals with modern issues, just like Shakespeare’s masterpieces.
Sadlers Wells will welcome the cream of Japanese talent in this production. How do you go about assembling the cast for shows like Love in Action?
I have been working only for the theatre for ages, almost 50 years, half a century. Consequently, I have quite a few friends in the theatre.
I usually do the workshops a lot with quite a number of actors before and during writing my new script. Then I decide whose fits which character. Sometimes, great actors give me an inspiration for new work.
You utilised the music of Queen for your last show here. What should audiences expect this time?
This time I am using a sort of Japanese music which has been influenced by Western songs.
Everybody would recognize it. At the same time, you can listen to modern Japanese traditional music.
I bet that audiences can enjoy both.
In your version of Brothers Karamazov, you decided to change the ending. Was this an early decision in the show’s development?
Yes, before I started to write the script, I had already decided on the ending. I want to show this ending, which is far away from the beginning. After going out to the theatre, I would like audiences to start to think of what happened in the past and what will happen in the future.