A 99 year-old bag lady haunts a twilit park full of lovers and is questioned by a drunken writer. She reveals that she was once a great beauty who was courted by a handsome captain. Although she is old, ugly and wrinkled, something makes the writer see Komachi as she once was; his vision transformed by love.
Sotoba Komachi, 2004 © Elena Machado
Metro Critic’s Choice Summer 2004
“StoneCrabs director Franko Figueiredo tosses aside comfort for a visceral double-bill full of moments of finesse.” – Karen Joyner – Metro
“StoneCrabs choses to ignore Mishima’s realistic setting opting for a blend of movement and dance that returns a lot of visual poetry to the stories. The lyricism of the play’s language is mirrored in an opulent and highly moving production” – Jaspre Bark – What’s On Stage
Directed by Franko Figueiredo
Assistant Director: Natascha Metherell
Cast: Tereza Araujo; Carli Goodwin; Belinda Hoare; Etsuko Shirasaka; Estelle Ricoux; Akiko Sato & Jay Lim
Set Designer: Nigel Hook
Costume Designer: Lu Firth
Sound and Image Designers: Dinah Mullen & Luciano Oltramari
Choreographer: Estelle Ricoux
Photographer: Elena Machado
Graphic Designers: Estelle Ricoux & Elena Machado
Production Assistants: Cris Darke & Sandra Veiga
Stage Management by Santiero Production and Events
Sotoba Komachi was presented at Greenwich Playhouse and supported by Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Japan Foundation, Docklands Light Railway and Southeastern Trains.