Shiki Theatre Company
Shiki Theatre Company (劇団四季, Gekidan Shiki, Lit. Four Seasons Theatre Company) is one of Japan's best-known and largest theatre companies. Shiki Theatre Company employs over 800 actors and staff, and stages about 2800 performances a year. Shiki Theatre Company operates nine theaters for their exclusive use. Originally, they staged classic plays by Jean Anouilh or Jean Giraudoux. However, in the late 1970s, they found success by staging western musicals and plays.
Shiki is also known for producing original language musicals. One such example is the Showa trilogy, a set of three musicals about World War II and the aftermath. The series consists of Ri Kōran, a musical about the famous Manchurian-Japanese singer; Foreign Hill (異国の丘, Ikoku no Oka) which tells the story of Japanese prisoners of war at an internment camp in Siberia; and Southern Cross (南十字星, Minami Shūjisei) about the trials of innocent B and C-class war criminals in Indonesia.
History
The Shiki Theatre Company was established in 1953 by Keita Asari (浅利慶太) and his company The organization was established as a stock holding company in 1967.
Theatres
The Shiki Theatre Company owns and operates several theatres across Japan.
Tokyo
Sapporo
- The Hokkaido Shiki Theatre – opened in January 2011.[6]
Nagoya
- The Nagoya Shiki Theatre – an approx. 1,200-seat theatre; opened in October 2016.[7]
Osaka
- The Osaka Shiki Theatre – an approx. 1,200-seat theatre; opened in January 2005.[8]
Productions
Past and present productions by the Shiki Theatre Company include the following:
Original shows and adaptations
- A Dream Within a Dream (夢から醒めた夢, Yume Kara Sameta Yume), based on a novel by Jirō Akagawa
- Yuta's Enchanting Friends (ユタと不思議な仲間たち, Yuta to Fushigina Nakama-tachi), based on the novel by Miura Tetsuo.
Showa trilogy
- Ri Koran
- Foreign Hill
- Southern Cross
Children's theatre
- Anne of Green Gables
- Maeterlinck's The Blue Bird (Sometimes re-titled: Dreaming)
- Lloyd Alexander's The Cat Who Wished to Be a Man
- The Emperor's New Clothes
Western shows
Family entertainment
- Disney's Aladdin (2015–present)[11][12]
- Disney's Beauty and the Beast (1995–2017)[13]
- Cats (1983–present)[14][15]
- Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (2016–present)[16][17]
- Disney's The Lion King (1998–present)[18][19]
- Disney's The Little Mermaid (2013–present)[20]
References
- "Theatre Information: The JR EAST Performing Arts Center: Theatre JIYU". Shiki Theatre Company. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- "Theatre Information: Daido Life Insurance Musical Theatre: The Dentsu Shiki Theatre UMI". Shiki Theatre Company. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- "Theatre Information: Sekisui House Musical Theatre: The Shiki Theatre NATSU". Shiki Theatre Company. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- "Theatre Information: The CATS Theatre". Shiki Theatre Company. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- "キャッツ・シアター建設レポート" [Cats Theater Construction Report] (in Japanese). Shiki Theatre Company. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- "Theatre Information: The Hokkaido Shiki Theatre". Shiki Theatre Company. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- "Theatre Information: The Nagoya Shiki Theatre". Shiki Theatre Company. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- "Theatre Information: The Osaka Shiki Theatre". Shiki Theatre Company. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- "ミュージカル『ウィキッド』東京公演が開幕1周年を迎えました[動画追加]" [The musical 'Wicked' Tokyo performance celebrated its first anniversary (Video added)] (in Japanese). Shiki Theatre Company. 18 June 2008. Archived from the original on 3 July 2008.
- "『ウィキッド』札幌公演が千秋楽を迎えました!" (in Japanese). Shiki Theatre Company. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
- Gioia, Michael (29 September 2014). "Japanese-Language Version of Disney's Aladdin Will Open in Tokyo". Playbill. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
- "Aladdin: Introduction". Shiki Theatre Company. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
- "Beauty and the Beast: Introduction" (in Japanese). Shiki Theatre Company. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
- "【動画追加】『キャッツ』が日本公演通算1万回を達成しました!" [(Video added) 'Cats' has achieved 10,000 concerts in Japan!] (in Japanese). Shiki Theatre Company. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
- "Cats: Introduction". Shiki Theatre Company. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
- co.,ltd, NANO association. "キャスト候補発表!劇団四季『ノートルダムの鐘』製作発表レポート!". エンタステージ (in Japanese). Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- ""THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME" English Guide|SHIKI THEATRE COMPANY". SHIKI THEATRE COMPANY. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- Ehren, Christine (17 December 1998). "The Lion King Roars Into Tokyo's Shiki Theatre, Dec. 20". Playbill. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
- "The Lion King: Introduction". Shiki Theatre Company. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
- "The Little Mermaid: Introduction". Shiki Theatre Company. Retrieved 8 April 2019.