Shuntaro Matsubara / Ayaka Ono Akira Nakazawa Spacenotblank “Beautiful Ridiculous Scenario of the Sorcerer’s Apprentices”

Toyooka Theater Festival 2025 Director’s Program

Shuntaro Matsubara / Ayaka Ono Akira Nakazawa Spacenotblank

“Beautiful Ridiculous Scenario of the Sorcerer’s Apprentices”

Playwright: Shuntaro Matsubara
Direction: Ayaka Ono & Akira Nakazawa

Magic plays where no one’s looking.
Magic plays where no one’s looking.
Magic plays where no one’s looking.

Since 2019, playwright Shuntaro Matsubara and the duo of theatre makers Ayaka Ono and Akira Nakazawa — known as Ayaka Ono Akira Nakazawa Spacenotblank — have collaborated on a series of productions. Their sixth collaboration, and their first in two years since Dance Dance Revolutions (presented in 2023 at the Free Space of the Kyoto Art Center), is a new work titled: Beautiful Ridiculous Scenario of the Sorcerer’s Apprentices. It will premiere in September 2025 as part of the Toyooka Theater Festival Director’s Program, staged at the Seishido Theater at the Professional College of Arts and Tourism. The cast features Chika Araki, Himawari Inoue, Rei Kagata, and Yuki Koga.

【Area】Toyooka

【Venue】Professional College of Arts and Tourism

【Date and Time】
Sep.13(Sat)19:00
Sep.14(Sun)14:00, 19:00
Sep.15(Mon)14:00

【Performance Duration】Approx. 80 minutes

【Performance Language】
Performed in Japanese only
*English subtitles

【Performers】
Created with and Performed by: Chika Araki, Himawari Inoue, Rei Kagata, Yuki Koga

【Staff】
Rehearsal Director: Shizuka Yamaguchi
Sound Engineer: Shomi Sakurauchi
Lighting Desing: Nami Nakayama
Scenography & Stage Management: Takuya Kamiike
English Translation: Jeremy Kuhles
English Subtitle System: Kotaro Konishi
Advertising & Archival Videography: Akio Hikage
Production Management: Hogara Kawai
In Cooperation with: Kusa, nico film, Ressenchka, Yurakucho Art Urbanism YAU, The Saison Foundation
Planning & Production: Shuntaro Matsubara / Ayaka Ono Akira Nakazawa Spacenotblank

【Accessibility】
・Wheelchairs accommodated
・Free entrance for aide
・Childcare services
・English subtitles

If you require any of the following services, please contact the Toyooka Theater Festival Festival Center before purchasing tickets.
- Those who have a disability certificate and wish to be accompanied by an aide.
- Those who plan to attend the festival in a wheelchair.
- Those who wish to use childcare services.

Childcare services (reservation required)
Date:Sep.14(Sun)14:00, Sep.15(Mon)14:00
*Free childcare service provided.

【Notes】
*English subtitles
*Preschool children are not admitted.

【Credits】
Presented by Ebara Riverside Theatre
Co-organized by Toyooka Theater Festival
Supported by Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan | Japan Arts Council

Shuntaro Matsubara
Playwright. Born in Kumamoto in 1988, currently based in Kyoto. In 2015, his play Michiyuki won the 15th AAF Playwriting Prize. In 2019, Yamayama (I would prefer not to) received the 63rd Kishida Kunio Drama Award. His major works include the plays Alice in Wonderlight and Your Garden, as well as the novels Tell the Truth and Dedicated to Dog. He is also a participant of the Murinkan International program.

Ayaka Ono Akira Nakazawa Spacenotblank
Founded in 2012, Ayaka Ono Akira Nakazawa Spacenotblank is a performing arts collective led by Ayaka Ono and Akira Nakazawa. The duo creates dance, theatre, and new frameworks for performance. By combining established performing arts concepts with original mechanisms developed through their own research, they explore the role of performance in contemporary society and continuously experiment with generating new forms of value. Their work is rooted in communication that emerges from unique environments and relationships, driving ongoing collaborations with core members as well as with a diverse range of artists across disciplines.

https://toyooka-theaterfestival.jp/en/program/9869/