Stage: Myth, memory and other bad ideas

–320°F
Minus Three Twenty Fahrenheit
written & directed by Hideki Noda
with Sadawo Abe, Suzu Hirose, Eri Fukatsu, Koji Ohkura, Shoko Takada, Yuri Kawakami, Satoshi Hashimoto, Hideki Noda, Isao Hashizume
choreography Shigehiro Ide
sets Yukio Horio • costumes Kodue Hibino
music Marihiko Hara • sound Raku Nakahara
lighting Motoi Hattori, Makoto Kitazawa
Sadler's Wells, London • 2-11.Jul.26 ★★★★

Following a run at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Japanese theatre company Noda Map brings a cast of 25 fully committed performers to London to stage this outrageously energetic epic play. Mixing various styles of theatre, this is a sparky mix of comedy, physical theatre, existential debate and absurd nuttiness. At 2 hours 20 minutes with subtitles and without an interval, it's not for the faint-hearted, but the bonkers storytelling and big ideas catch the imagination.

It's difficult, and perhaps pointless, to describe the Faustian narrative. But a brightly comical tone runs through the show, with constant sight gags, witty wordplay and cheeky characters who refuse to behave themselves. It opens with God (Isao Hashizume) making a wager with the Angel of Light (Suzu Hirose) about human desire. Then we're in the present day, as Professor Kyuri (Eri Fukatsu) is excavating for angel bones, the key to health, desire and longevity. She discovers that Help (Sadawo Abe) vibrates on the angelic frequency, so sends him into his genetic memories to both medieval and ancient times, seeking answers. And he's easily bribed with bananas.

All of this is set in a Tower of Babel that shifts through the eras, ruled by priests, monarchs or chief executives. There's a lot going on visually, with constant action as scenes shift using inventive trickery with light, sheets, screens, trap doors, steam vents and colourful costumes. It's dazzling to watch, thankfully directed with enough clarity to reveal exactly where to look. Each performer invests enormous personality and attitude into multiple roles, bringing them to life in ways that are continually surprising.

Along the way, the script tackles enormous questions, such as why humans are always running (to get away from metaphorical dinosaurs, of course). There's a Pied Piper who leads liberated lab mice or angels who have been frozen to –320°F to preserve them. But not all mice (or angels) follow the crowd. Conversations explore how our bones hold the memories of everything that has gone before, while fossilised bones communicate with the future. The show is a blinding mix of playful dialog, eye-catching choreography and heart-stopping insight. "When I had youth, I had nothing and I lacked nothing." "Beauty isn't an achievement."

Writer-director Hideki Noda, who performs as Kyuri's lively Assistant Stalwart, says that this play is designed to be something different for everyone who watches it, depending on how willing they are to connect with its more personal layers. Intriguingly, he acknowledges some will dismiss the show due to its excessive goofiness. But he clearly has these people in mind when he makes us laugh at something absurd or stops us with a profound observation. And in the end, this is a strikingly beautiful depiction of the folly of seeking eternal youth or trying to understand the meaning of humanity. Or of love itself.

For details, SADLER'S WELLS > • NODA MAP >

photos by Takashi Okamoto • 2.Jul.26

Critical Week: It's my party

It's my birthday week, so I decided to go see a guilty pleasure movie (I'd missed the press screening while I was in France), namely Jackass: Best and Last. It was as ridiculous as expected, not quite as funny as the joke has been stretched to the breaking point. But these guys evoke an intriguing stream of nostalgia that's engaging. Then the week's best surprise was the Canadian comedy Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, an absurd time-travel adventure that's riotously funny and also hugely likeable thanks to actor-filmmakers Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie
Minions & Monsters
ALL REVIEWS >

Rather a lot darker, My Father's Island is a gorgeously shot drama set in a remote corner of Norway starring the excellent Swann Arlaud and Woody Norman. Nathan Grubbs stars in and directs the involving drama Cowboy, worth a look even when it goes a bit off the rails. And Amanda Richards stars in and directs the likeable and deliberately rude musical romp Whiskey Dixie and the Big Wet Country. I also saw Hideki Noda's −320°F at Sadler's Wells.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching the live-action remake of Moana, the reboot Evil Dead Rise, Willem Dafoe in Late Fame, Sean Bean in The Isolate Thief and the doc Shoot the People. There's also a live performance of Richard III at the Cockpit.