Opera
Ballet & Dance
Drama

the_Sneeze
Chekhov: Series - The Work of the Soul vol.2
the Sneeze
THE PIT

<STAFF>
Plays and Stories by : Anton Chekhov Translated and adapted by : Michael Frayn
Japanese Translation by : Odajima Koushi Staged by : Kumakura Kazuo
Set designer : Ota So Lightning Designer : Mizuno Shiro
Sound Designer : Mochizuki Isao Costume Designer : Yamada Yasuko
Hairstyling and Make-up : Harada Gen Staging by : Miura Ryo
Assistant Director : Nagai Hirotaka Stage Manager : Koyama Hiromichi
Artistic Director : Kuriyama Tamiya      
Presented by : New National Theatre, Tokyo

<CAST>
Asami Rei Ikkokudou Suma Kei Takahashi Nobuko
Uran Sakiko Koike Koji Mizoguchi Atsushi Tadano Yohei
Fukumatsu Shinya Yasuhara Yoshihito Kumakura Kazuo

<PERFORMANCES>
February/ March
2002
Thu.
28
Fri.
1
Sat.
2
Sun.
3
Mon.
4
Tue.
5
Wed.
6
Thu.
7
Fri.
8
Sat.
9
Sun.
10
1:00pm     X no
performance
          all
reserved
X
2:00pm         X X      
7:00pm X X   X     X X  
February/ March
2002
Mon.
11
Tue.
12
Wed.
13
Thu.
14
Fri.
15
Sat.
16
Sun.
17
Mon.
18
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19
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1:00pm no
performance
        X X no
performance
    X  
2:00pm X X         X      
7:00pm     X X       X   X
For Sat, March 9, only Z seats will be available.
Doors will open 45 minutes before the start of each performance.
Please understand entries will be restricted during the performances.

<ADVANCE TICKETS>
Available from Friday, 19 January, 2002 at 10:00 am.
To order tickets, please call +81-3-5352-9999 (10:00am-6:00pm).
Internet ticket reservation available through the following Websites.(Japanese only)
http://t.pia.co.jp/
http://eee.eplus.co.jp/

<TICKET PRICES>
Type Seat A Seat B
Price ¥5,250 ¥3,150
Seat Z(\1,500) is sold only on the performance day at the Box Office and exclusive Ticket Pia Offices.

the_Sneeze
Tragi-comedies, plus burlesques in life;
Chekhov's essence of laughter is of the present day.

Even the great writer Tolstoy had a good laugh at Chekhov's humor...

The Sneeze is, so to speak, the choicest full-course dinner in which Michael Frayn displays his skill by using Chekhov's short stories and plays as ingredients.
The second in the "Series/Chekhov: The Work of the Soul",which explores the diverse possibilities of the works by Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), is a collection of witty and unconstrained vaudevilles based on eight of his early short works. These works have been arranged for the stage and organized into a two-act play by Michael Frayn, the British dramatist famed for his plays Noises Off, Copenhagen and other high-profile works, as well as for his translation of Chekhov's four major plays into English.
Used for The Sneeze are a series of superb one-act plays and short stories Chekhov wrote as he aimed for full-fledged literary works after writing a large number of miscellaneous essays. These one-act plays have a history of having been performed since the Meiji period (1868-1912) in Japan as well, giving the impression that they are somewhat antiquated. However, when they fall in the hands of Frayn, the best-known humorist in Great Britain, the doors that lead directly to the discovery of one modern aspect of the Russian dramatist opens in front of the audience one after another.
The London premiere of the Sneeze in 1988 threw the audience into boisterous laughter throughout the performance and gained great public favor. One critic remarked that it was "highly dramatic and brilliant entertainment that uses Chekhov's fresh and characteristic language and does not deviate from the real intention of the original work." With his sharp observing eyes, Chekhov picked up and depicted scenes of daily life comically, sometimes with a sentimental touch. Frayn highlights in a remarkable manner the humor with which Chekhov turned even certain aspects of life into jokes and successfully spun his own drama with unlimited sympathy. One cannot help but to marvel at Frayn's outstanding skill.
The Sneeze is so contrived as to make the same actor play different roles rapidly one after another. It also enables the audience to enjoy the charm and acting of actors to the fullest. The Japanese premiere of the play will bring together the players with a marked individuality: Asami Rei, who has starred in many musicals and straight plays; Suma Kei, who displays his unique and versatile power of expression; and Ikkokudou, who has used his exquisite techniques as a ventriloquist to open up an unprecedented world. The stage director will be Kumakura Kazuo, who directed Inoue Hisashi's early works and stands foremost among the stage directors and actors for comic plays. The play will invite the audience to the old yet new world of the highest-quality laughter.
ACT I ACT II
"Drama" - taken from a short story under the same title, published in 1887.
Pavel Vasilyevich, a writer
Murashkina, a lady with literary ambitions
Luka, a manservant
One morning. Pavel Vasilyevich's house.

"The Alien Corn" - taken from In a Foreign Land, a short story published in 1885.
Kamyshev, a landowner
Champugne, his former French tutor
Misha, a footman
On a dull Sunday. The vast estate.

"The Sneeze" - taken from The Death of a Government Official, a short story published in 1883.
Brizzhalov, a very senior Government official
His wife
Chervyakov, a very minor Government official
His wife
At theatre. A first class seat and a seat behind it.

"The Bear" - a one-act play written in 1888. In Japan in 1914, the Geijutsu-za Theatre had its premiere at the Yuraku-za Theatre, with Kusuyama Masao's translation and Shimamura Hogetsu's directing. In both 1925 and 1928, translated by Yonekawa Masao and Osanai Kaoru respectively, the production was performed by the Tsukiji small hall.
Popova, a widow
Smirnov, a landowner
Luka, an elderly footman
Popova's mansion. In the sitting room.

"The Evils of Tobacco" - a one-act play written in 1902. After the 1886's release of the work under the same title, this was re-written as a new production, keeping the existing characters the same.
Nyukhin - his wife owns a music school and a girl's dormitory
Rural village. At rostrum in assembly hall.

"The Inspector-General" - taken from An Awl in a Sack, a short novel published in 1885.
A traveller
A cart driver
Snowy, bumpy road. In the countryside.

"Swan Song" - re-named, signifying farewell songs made by a dying person. The Japanese version had its premiere in 1914.
Svetlovidov, an actor
Nikita Ivanich, a prompter
At theatre. In a small village.

"The Proposal" - a one-act play written after the release of "The Bear" in 1887 and the first release in Japan of Chkhov's play. The Jiyu Theatre had its premiere in 1910 under the title of "A Dog", translated and staged by Osanai Kaoru. In 1925 this was re-performed by Tsukiji Small Theatre, with the same translation and staging as the premiere in 1910.
Chubukov, a landowner
Natalya Stepanovna, his daughter
Lomov, a neighbor
The landowner's mansion. In the sitting room.



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