Tokyo Performances

Guards! Guards!

Tokyo International Players
26 September 2008

This was a play by Terry Prachett and was reminiscent of Monty Python which I readily admit most of the time I didn't "get". The British allusions were always too obscure, as they were in this piece. There was much to smile about, but there was much that seemed like inside jokes, which was ultimately more annoying than entertaining.

The piece is mythical involving dragon's and secret societies, bureaucracies which are corrupt and unable to deal with a crisis which some of them have caused - leaving the fix to the wandering hero. Pretty basic stuff.

The outstanding character was a former human now orangutan played by Jonah Hagans. Acting only with his eyes and hands and arms and body he provided the entertainment for the evening. Likewise Ron Scott proved once again to be a gifted comic actor.

On the other hand, a Japanese cast member had such poor diction and overacted so shamelessly that I was extremely distracted every time she was on the stage, What was the director thinking?

Other notable performances were by Damian Rumph playing the constantly upbeat and achingly honest hero and Cyrus Sethna as an amusing guard.

I give credit to TIP for continuing to provide theater in English in Tokyo as a completely volunteer group. As a consequence sometimes they succeed and sometimes they fall short. Most of this evening was in the latter category.

posted by Larry Wells @ 6:17 PM