Murakami's After the Quake Brought to Life

Pi Theatre and Rumble Productions bring one of Haruki Murakami's books, after the quake, to life on the stage for the next two weeks at Studio 16 on 7th ave near Granville St. When I learned the Canadian premiere of this adaptation was opening in Vancouver, I was pretty excited. I had read two Murakami books (liked one, didn't like the other), but I picked up after the quake in preparation and was quickly drawn into the stories, all of which take place after the Kobe 1995 earthquake.

The play is based on the last two short stories in the collection--"super frog saves tokyo" & "honey pie". Frank Galati, who adapted for the stage, brilliantly combines the two stories into one seamless narrative, drawing connections between the two and paring them in a way Murakami didn't in the book, but which works well. The stageplay stays true, however, to the nature of both stories, while adding a third dimension in the cross-over between them.

I hadn't been to a play in a really long time. As in I can't even remember the last time I saw living, breathing actors on stage in front of me instead of projected, cold onto a screen. The experience is so different, I had forgotten what a thrill live theatre can be. Especially good live theatre. But after the quake isn't just good live theatre--it's excellent, delicate, surreal, hilarious, and thought-provoking. It makes me want to go see more plays in this city.

Studio 16 is a small theatre that shares its lobby with a cafe next door. I was immediately feeling positive about the play once I saw the set decoration: a beautiful Japanese-style interior room, with semi-translucent paper good for casting shadows and diffusing light. The set was simple, but dynamic, using sliding doors, a coffee table and an upward walkway to create a number of different locations.

Briefly, the play follows three friends--Sayoko, Takatsuki, and Junpei. Sayoko and Takatsuki become lovers and have a daughter, Sala, while Junpei remains hopelessly in love with Sayoko and also hopelessly unable to communicate this to her. Junpei is a writer, currently writing a story about a man, Katagiri, visited by a talking frog, who learns he must save Tokyo from a crippling earthquake in the near future. The play explores the themes of hopelessness, loneliness and the power of story in the lives of ordinary people.

The cast only consists of five actors, many of which handle two different characters so well that for the first twenty minutes of the show I thought there were seven different actors. Maybe I'm just slow, but I think it's more a testament to the actor's abilities. Alessandro Juliani, who played the narrator as well as Frog, was perhaps my favourite of the cast. His portrayal of the surreal Frog in voice and physicality was spot-on and often hilarious. Manami Hara was sweet and lovable as the pined-for Sayoko. Kevan Ohtsji played Takatsuki, but whose best performance was as the unlikely hero Katagiri in its noir film-like attitude. Tetsuro Shigematsu had a large role as Junpei, the writer, and carried the thread of both storylines in the play smoothly. Leina Dueck, the girl who played Sala was both effectively precocious and adorable.

The play is 90 minutes long with no intermission, but there wasn't a moment where I felt restless. The lighting and sound effects were perfectly used to elicit laughter as well as project a certain ominous and magical mood. The story moved quickly, the characters well developed, the jokes funny. All in all, this is a production that Murakami himself, I'm sure, would deem as worthwhile of his book. It's a reminder of what we risk losing should the arts cuts continue in our province (a sad fact highlighted by an insert into the program guide).

The play runs until December 5th, so don't miss out.

Directed by Craig Hall and Richard Wolfe.
Written by Frank Galati
Tickets available online
Venue: Studio 16

photos by Ken Bryant
illustration by Edward Kwong
book cover image from Amazon.ca