"KOTATSU", a Japan-France Collaborative Production by Seinendan and Pascal Rambert, to Be Presented at the TNB Festival in France
The Japan Foundation (JF) will present "KOTATSU" by Seinendan, the theatre company led by HIRATA Oriza, at the TNB Festival in Rennes, France.
The TNB Festival is an international performing arts festival organized by the Théâtre National de Bretagne (TNB). Alongside theatre, it features a wide range of interdisciplinary programs spanning dance, music, and performance. The festival is also known as a platform for exchange where theatre professionals and producers from around the world gather.
”KOTATSU” is a Japan-France collaborative production written especially for the actors of Seinendan by French playwright and director Pascal Rambert, with HIRATA Oriza serving as Japanese-language supervisor and co-director. The work is the culmination of more than two decades of ongoing artistic collaboration between the two artists, both of whom are leading figures in contemporary theatre in Japan and France.
Set during the New Year holidays of a family that has built a small company into a global corporation, the play depicts how anxiety and threats gradually permeate everyday life through social media.
The production was created through JF's 2021 International Creations in Performing Arts Program. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the work will receive its French premiere at the TNB Festival. We hope that the presentation of this work, created through collaboration between Japanese and French theatre artists, will lead to further performing arts exchange between Japan and France.
(c) Miula Ulin
(c) Miula Ulin
The creative process of this production can be explored through the Observer's Report of the 2021 International Creations in Performing Arts.
FY2021 International Creations in Performing Arts Process Observer Reports (PDF: 7.6MB)
Performance Details
『KOTATSU』｜公演案内｜青年団公式ホームページ (Japanese)
Performance outline
| Performance | 『KOTATSU』 Written and directed by: Pascal Rambert Co-director and Japanese-language supervisor: HIRATA Oriza Translation: HIRANO Akito |
|---|---|
| Cast | NAGAI Hideki, HYODO Kumi, CHINEN Mima, SATO Shigeru, NAKATO Sho, HAYASHI Chie, MORI Issei, NAGOYA Megumi, ASAMURA Kamilla, TASAKI Koharu |
| Schedule | Wednesday, November 25, 2026, 8:00 p.m. Thursday, November 26, 2026, 7:30 p.m. Friday, November 27, 2026, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, November 28, 2026, 5:00 p.m. |
| Running Time | 2 hours 15 minutes |
| Language | Japanese |
| Subtitles | French |
| Venue | TNB Salle Serreau, Théâtre National de Bretagne (Rennes, France) |
| Website | KOTATSU - Théâtre National de Bretagne - Centre Européen Théâtral et Chorégraphique |
Organized by: The Japan Foundation
Co-organized by: Théâtre National de Bretagne, The Japan Foundation, Agora Planning Ltd./Komaba Agora Theater, structure production
Original production/Co-production: The Japan Foundation, Agora Planning Ltd./Komaba Agora Theater, structure production
Artist Profile
Pascal Rambert
French playwright, director, movie director, and choreographer. Born in 1962. Worked as artistic director of the national dramatic center, Théâtre de Gennevilliers, from 2007 to 2017, receiving high acclaim. He won the Grand Prize in Dramatic Literature in 2012, the Author’s Award in 2013, and the Académie Française Literature and Philosophy Prize in 2016. Since 2017, he has been an associate artist of Théâtre de Bouffes du Nord in Paris. In 2019, his play Architecture premiered at the Festival d’Avignon.
HIRATA Oriza
Playwright, Director and Founder of Seinendan Theatre Company.
President, Professional College of Arts and Tourism.
Director, Aomori Museum of Art.
Director, Ebara Riverside Theatre.
Festival Director, Toyooka Theatre Festival.
Born in Tokyo in 1962, HIRATA Oriza graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences at International Christian University.
He received the 39th Kishida Kunio Drama Award in 1995 for Tokyo Notes. In 1998, he won both the Best Director Award and Best Production Award at the 5th Yomiuri Theatre Awards for Tsuki no Misaki (Cape of the Moon). In 2002, his script, composition, and direction of The Third Attack on Ueno Zoo earned him the Best Production Award at the 9th Yomiuri Theatre Awards. He received the Critics' Prize from the International Association of Theatre Critics (AICT) in 2002 for his book Theory of the Arts Nation. In 2003, Across the River in May (a Korea-Japan cultural exchange project) was awarded the Grand Prix of the 2nd Asahi Performing Arts Awards. He received the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award in 2006.
In 2011, he was appointed a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication. In 2019, he was awarded the 22nd Tsuruya Nanboku Drama Award for The Rise and Fall of Japanese Literature.
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Persons in Charge: KAWAI (Ms.)
E-mail: pa＠jpf.go.jp
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