theatre e9 kyoto| 有名人の最新ニュースを読者にお届けします。

Many people think of Kyoto as an artistic city, with a splendid history that has produced many forms of art and culture such as Noh and Kyogen since ancient times. However, the reality is that the creative environment for performing arts is now under threat.

From 2015 to 2017, 5 small theatres were forced to close, mainly due to the owners becoming elderly (so they agreed to sell the land/building) or because the buildings deteriorated. These closures symbolize the end of an era.

Despite being known as a city of art and culture, if this is allowed to continue Kyoto will lose all of these places which contain the stage format of the “black box” and can be used at a low cost by young theatre company members who will carry the future of their craft.

In March 2017, the city of Kyoto launched the Kyoto Station South-East Area Activation Policy, to enliven the Higashi Kujo area through young people and art projects.

As our way to support this plan, we have decided to rent and renovate a storehouse in the Higashi Kujo area (a dormitory for Hachise company employees built in 1984), to create a new small theatre space in this district.

As people involved in creativity and culture, we have set up this project to cause a sensation in the context of this challenging environment for producing work in the performing arts.

100年つづく劇場をつくろう。このプロジェクトは、実に子供じみた思いからはじまったものです。お金も、智恵も、力もない私たちにあったのは、舞台への思いと危機感でした。そこから、一歩一歩ではありましたが、ご協力くださる仲間が増え、支援の輪が地域や時に国を超えて広がり、10代から80代までの世代の方々に支えていただきながら、2019年6月に開館を迎えられる運びとなりました。他に例の無い背景でつくられた新しい劇場の誕生です。大きな思いのこもった劇場づくりは、これからいよいよ幕をあけます。この劇場で上演される作品も、今、声をあげた若いアーティストから世界的なアーティストまで、多彩多様です。およそ100席ほどの、ささやかな空間ですが、舞台芸術の奥行きと幅の広さをお楽しみ頂きたいと思います。また、演劇やダンスだけでなく、美術や音楽など、ジャンルを横断した作品もご紹介いたします。

しばしば、なぜ、劇場が必要なのか、または、なぜアートが必要なのかと、問いかけられます。表現は、人間の存在にかかわる根源的なものです。表現しない人は存在せず、また、表現は、人と人との間、人と世界との間、人と神との間に生まれるものです。私たちが存在することと根源的に結びついたもので、舞台芸術は2500年続く最も古く、また、現代に於いても更新しつづけている芸術ではないでしょうか。しかしながら、直ちに、資本主義原理と親和するほどの合理性はなく、また、明治新政府以降、舞台芸術は音楽や美術などの他の分野の芸術と違い、国策・教育プログラムとしては採用されておらず、常に民間の努力の中で育まれてきたこの国の固有の経緯もあります。経済的基盤や、舞台芸術に対する教育的基盤が脆弱な状況のなかで、今後、私たちはどのように、作品を創造・発信し、市民の皆様に日常的に通っていただける風土としての劇場文化をつくることができるのか、本当の意味での挑戦がはじまります。E9サポーターズクラブをはじめ、まずは、皆様にTHEATRE E9 KYOTOで上演される作品を、ひとつでも多くご覧頂きたいと思います。観て頂くことが支援となりますし、交流のはじまりとなります。

これまで多くのご支援を頂きましたこと重ねてお礼を申し上げます。また、これから始まる新たなドラマを皆様と共に作り上げられますよう、改めてそして、切にお願い申し上げます。

THEATRE E9 KYOTO芸術監督　あごうさとし

Let’s create a theatre that will last for a century. This is the truly naïve concept that launched this project. Although we lack money, knowledge and influence, what we do have is a passion for the stage and motivation that comes from a sense of crisis. While we had to move slowly step by step at first, the number of our supporters grew and our network expanded outside our region, and sometimes even to other countries. With the aid of teenagers through to people in their 80s, we have managed to open the theatre in June 2019. Born out of a truly unique background, the curtain will finally be raised on our ambitious theatre-building project.

The works that will be staged at this theatre will also be very diverse, from promising young artists to international performers, Although it is a modest space with around 100 seats, you will be able to fully enjoy the expansive depth and width of the performing arts. We will not only present plays or dance, but also works that transcend genres such as art and music.

I am often asked why theatre and art is necessary. The answer is that expression is a fundamental part of human existence. It could be said that people who can’t express themselves don’t truly exist. Expression is something that is created between different people, as well as between people and the world and between people and gods.

As something fundamentally bound to our existence, it could be argued that the performing arts derive from the oldest artforms in the world that go back 2500 years and continue to evolve today. On the other hand, stage-based arts lack the kind of economic rationality that is compatible with capitalist principles. Unlike other fields such as music or visual art, there has been no aid through national policy or educational programs for the performing arts after the Meiji Restoration. This means there has been a unique environment in Japan where performing arts have always been nurtured through the efforts of the private sector.

Considering this fragile financial and educational foundation for the performing arts, we are at the start of a truly challenging mission to create and distribute new works, as well as to build up a stage culture that can be regularly enjoyed by ordinary citizens. Starting with the E9 Supporters Club, we hope you can come to see as many works as possible on stage at THEATRE E9 KYOTO. Your presence in the audience will support us and act as a catalyst for communication.

I would like to sincerely thank you once again for your kind support. We are looking forward to working with you all as we raise the curtain together to this new chapter ahead of us.

THEATRE E9 KYOTO Artistic Director Satoshi Ago