UK arts events in Japan
Please note that, due to the rapidly changing COVID-19 coronavirus situation, all events are subject to cancellation or postponement. Please check event/organiser websites for the latest information.
The King’s Man
This prequel to the hit film Kingsman: The Secret Service, by English director Matthew Vaughn, who co-wrote the screenplay, is set in the early 20th century and depicts how the suave Kingsman agency was formed. Starring British actors Ralph Fiennes, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Gemma Arterton.
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The Challenges and Joys of Steel: David Smith’s Circle IV and Other Sculpture
Artist David Smith (1906–1965) was one of the most renowned sculptors, and an influence on Sir Anthony Alfred Caro OM CBE, an English abstract sculptor. Caro’s style was modernist and was lauded as the greatest British sculptor of his generation. This mini-exhibition explores the importance of steel as a sculptural material.
Artwork: David Smith, Circle IV, 1962 @sato katsuaki
3-1 Kitanomaru-koen, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8322
René Lalique
This exhibition focuses on the works of French artist René Lalique. He spent two years at the Crystal Palace School of Art in Sydenham, London. During that time he also practised as an apprentice goldsmith to leading Parisian Art Nouveau jeweller and goldsmith Louis Aucoc, who informed his work in jewellery and glass.
Left: Butterfly Brooch Sylphide c.1900, Private Collection, Courtesy of Albion Art Jewellery Institute
Right: Night Light Swallows, Body Tourbillions 1919, Galerie Orphée
5-21-9, Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0071
The Lighthouse
The 2019 film The Lighthouse, starring British actor Robert Pattinson and US actor Willem Dafoe is a gothic psychological horror film that was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 73rd British Academy Film Awards in February 2020. This film has recently been released in Japan, and is not one to miss.
1-2-2 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0006
NTLive Medea
Euripides’ classic tragedy was brought to life through the 2014 National Theatre performance. In Euripides’ classic story, a heartbroken Medea—played by the late British actress Helen McCrory—plots revenge on her ex-husband. The production was filmed by the National Theatre and will be playing at Toho Cinemas Chanter and other select locations.
Photo: NTLive Media (C) Richard-Hubert-Smith
1-2-2 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0006
Jamie
This musical, based on the BBC Three documentary Jamie: Drag Queen at 16, will premier in Japan this summer, performed by Japanese actors. The performance has been a hit in the London West End, as well as being nominated for the Lawrence Olivier Award in five categories.
(Toshima Arts and Culture Theater)
1-19-1 Higashiikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 170-0013
Barakura English Garden
The Barakura English Garden always has plenty of beautiful events. Coming up are the Rose Weeks. Celebrating the national flower of England, varieties of different species of rose, shrub rose and climbing rose will be in bloom, complementing the other plants flowering around them.
Collection Exhibition curated by Ryan Gander
UK artist Ryan Gander has made a considerable mark on the international art scene. Recently, he teamed up with the Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery to curate two concurrent exhibitions. One is titled Colours of the Imagination and pays tribute to the late Kotaro Terada. The second is an interactive exhibition called All Our Stories are Incomplete…, which focuses on light, or a lack of it. Should this pique your interest, make sure you visit the gallery.
Artwork: Tetsuo MIZÙ, Johann Sebastian Bach, 1990
Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare’s iconic tale of Romeo and Juliet, has returned to the stage at the TBS Akasaka ACT Theater, Tokyo and the Umeda Arts Theater, Osaka. After a two-year hiatus, the highly successful musical is back to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the play’s first performance in Japan.
Photo by Leslie Kee (SIGNO)
5-3-2 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 107-8006
0570-077-039
Umeda Arts Theater
19-1 Chayamachi, Kita Ward, Osaka, 530-0013
06-6377-3800
Another Energy: Power to Continue Challenging
This impressive exhibition celebrates 16 female artists who began their contemporary art careers between the 1950s and 1970s. Newly commissioned work from the successful British artist Phyllida Barlow CBE is featured.
Artwork: untitled: canvasracks; 2018-2019, Phyllida Barlow
Photo: Damian Griffiths, Courtesy of Cross Steele Collection
53F, Roppongi Hills Mori Tower
6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-6150
Spring Collection 2021
This exhibition will be showcasing recently acquired works from talented British and Japanese studio potters alongside the gallery’s permanent collection.
Artwork: Black Light V, Ashley Howard
3-5-13 Fukasawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 158-0081
All’s Well That Ends Well
The Sainokuni Shakespeare Series is a project to perform all of Shakespeare’s plays in Japanese. It was started in 1998 by the late Japanese director and actor Yukio Ninagawa. This performance of All’s Well That Ends Well is the last performance of the project. Members of HoriPro Stage may make advance bookings from 21 March.
3-15-1 Uemine, Chuo-ku, Saitama-shi, Saitama 338-0014
Constable: A History of His Affections in England
Coming to Japan for the first time in 30 years is a collection of works by English landscape painter John Constable. Comprising large-scale landscape and portrait oil paintings, this exhibition at the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum in Tokyo will show Constable’s focus on his own life through paintings of areas such as Salisbury, Hampstead and Brighton.
JohnConstable The Bridges Family 1804 Presented by Mrs WalterBogue Bridges 1952 ©Tate
2-6-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005
War Horse
Screenings of the Olivier Award-winning theatre production of War Horse are now underway in Japan. The critically acclaimed production, based on the book by British writer Michael Morpurgo, is a must see.
© Brinkhoff & Mogenburg
12 March–13 March (Kyoto)
TOHO Cinemas Nijyo
Osaka Station City Cinema
Vivarium
This award-winning mystery thriller, starring British actress Imogen Poots and directed by Irishman Lorcan Finnegan, follows a young couple looking for the perfect home who find themselves stuck in a neighbourhood that is a maze of identical houses.
© Fantastic Films Ltd/Frakas Productions SPRL/Pingpong Film