The Love Suicides at Sonezaki
U.S. production premiere
October 19–22, 2019 Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall
At the turn of 18th-century Japan, a clerk and a courtesan committed suicide in the forest of Tenjin. The Love Suicides at Sonezaki, a tragic play based upon these events, was banned after its 1703 premiere for more than two centuries. For this U.S. production premiere, renowned artist Hiroshi Sugimoto presents a bold, contemporary interpretation of the classic drama using bunraku puppet theater with music by Living National Treasure Seiji Tsurusawa and video by Tabaimo and Sugimoto. The puppets, imbued with life, captivate audiences with their lively movements rivaling the eloquence of actual human beings.
“Sugimoto breathed souls into the lifeless wooden puppets.”
– Le Monde
