Chekhov: Series - The Work of the Soul vol.3 The Story of Tusenbach Expelled from "Three Sisters" THE PIT <STAFF> Written and directed by : Iwamatsu Ryo     Set Designer : Shima Jiro Lighting Designer : Nakagawa Ryuichi Sound Designer : Fujita Akame Costume Designer : Hara Masami Hairstyling and Make-up : Kamata Naoki Stage Manager : Aoki Yoshihiro Artistic Director : Kuriyama Tamiya       Presented by : New National Theatre, Tokyo <CAST> Toda Naho Ri-Tang Toda Masahiro Arifuku Masashi Asahina Naoyuki Shioda Sadaharu Takahashi Tamiko Yashiro Asako Iwamatsu Ryo Oginome Keiko   <PERFORMANCES> April 2002 Mon. 1 Tue. 2 Wed. 3 Thu. 4 Fri. 5 Sat. 6 Sun. 7 Fri. 8 1:00pm           X X no performance 2:00pm     X         7:00pm X X   X X     April 2002 Tue. 9 Wed. 10 Thu. 11 Fri. 12 Sat. 13 Sun. 14 Mon. 15 Tue. 16 Wed. 17 1:00pm         X X       2:00pm X X           X X 7:00pm   X X X     X X   Doors will open 45 minutes before the start of each performance. Please understand entries will be restricted during the performances. <ADVANCE TICKETS> Available from Saturday, 16 February, 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. Irina, please tell me, - am I dead already ? The third in NNTT's"Series/Chekhov: The Work of the Soul"is a new play with unique ideas that Ryo Iwamatsu, who is called the"Chekhov of Japan," wrote taking a motif from the Russian dramatists' masterpiece Three Sisters. Here, Iwamatsu transcends time and space to pursue the dramaturgy of Chekhov. The setting is America in 1946. In a theatre district, Three Sisters by Chekhov is being performed at an unpopular playhouse, frequented by Tusenbach, who is supposed to have died in the play. Such a fantastic setting is the beginning of "The Story of Tusenbach Expelled from Three Sisters". Tusenbach, who is quickly brushed off by his fiancé, Irina, who says, "I already knew about your death," transcends time and space and meets her again in America, and three Irinas at that--the actress Irina, theatre shop girl Irina and prostitute Irina. Furthermore, Tennessee Williams, who leaped suddenly into literary fame with the success of The Glass Menagerie at that time, becomes involved with them. The embarrassment of Tusenbach, who is supposed to have died in a duel, the love and hatred of the three Irinas over him, and the respect and jealousy Williams is believed to have entertained toward Chekhov. . . As the emotions of characters vacillate and the complicated human relationships among them develop excitingly, the question"What kind of drama did Chekhov want to write?"emerges. What could the answer be? Toda Naho, Oginome Keiko and Li Tong, an attractive combination of actresses appearing on stage together for the first time, play the three Irinas, who respectively symbolize certain aspects of Irina's various feelings toward Tusenbach. The role of Tusenbach is played by Toda Masahiro Toda, who is a favorite player in Iwamatsu's works. In addition, Iwamatsu himself plays Williams. Thus a colorful cast of actors and actresses has been brought together for the forthcoming production of the play. Pursuing the portraiture and dramaturgy of Chekhov, the adventurous play will identify the new possibilities of his dramas. Synopsis The setting is America in 1946. There is a man who almost everyday frequents a poorly patronized theatre, which is performing Three Sisters. That man's name is Tusenbach. Irina, a theatre shop girl, is attracted to him. The homeless Tusenbach starts to tell the story of his life to street loafers. He tells them that in Russia, he was engaged to Irina, the younger of the two sisters, but he was forced to duel with a rival in love; that he ran away from the duel at the instruction of the army surgeon Chebutykin; and that subsequently, he was informed that he was the victim of the dramaturgy of Chekhov, in other words, he was destined to be killed so that the dramatist could let Irina say,"I already knew." Nobody believes his story, however. As he makes frequent visits to the theatre to see the performance of Three Sisters, Tusenbach falls in love with the actress who plays Irina. Meanwhile, she is approaching Tennessee Williams because she wishes to appear in the performance of The Glass Menagerie, which is being performed at the theatre across the street and is well attended. Tusenbach unwittingly begins to feel jealous of her conduct. The shop girl Irina, too, becomes intensely jealous of the actress and grabs a pistol. Soon Tusenbach starts to think, "In truth, wasn't I killed in the duel? Wasn't it a long time ago?"