Rising director Shuntaro Fujita made his debut in London, a major center of dramatic arts. His production of the musical "Violet" has been running at the Charing Cross Theatre in the British capital since January. It is quite rare that a Japanese person directs a musical performed entirely in English by a local cast, and the production seems to be enjoying a fairly good reputation.
The venue, with a seating capacity of about 250, is in the West End, one of the world's leading theater districts. The project was born out of exchanges between Thom Southerland, the theater's artistic director, and the Umeda Arts Theater in Osaka. The purpose is to create opportunities for Japanese theater directors to put on their productions in Britain and energize the theater scene in Japan, where an excess of imports continues to exist when it comes to musicals.
Fujita plays the key role in the current project. He originally trained under the late Yukio Ninagawa and is known for directing a Japanese production of the musical "Jersey Boys," among other works.
He stayed in London for a month and a half from December last year and returned to Japan after watching the first night of "Violet."
Shortly after arriving in Britain, he was surprised at how short rehearsals were, ending at 6 p.m., and how long the read-throughs were before walk-throughs began. During the read-throughs, cast members and the director read the script and thoroughly discussed the theme and the essential points of each character.
"It means that it's better to start acting after understanding the essence. As for rehearsals, it's good enough to rehearse thoroughly within the scheduled time," Fujita said, adding: "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I learned that it works because everyone works hard from the same standpoint."
The original production of "Violet" had its premiere in the United States in 1997. Violet is the name of the protagonist who lives in a rural area in the South. The musical details her journey aboard a bus to visit a missionary to ask him to treat a scar on her face.
In February last year, Fujita visited the U.S. South. He felt first-hand the differences in the racial makeup and music depending on the area. He took about 2,000 photos there and had the musical's cast and staff watch a slideshow, which took a good three hours.
"I wanted to tell them that every member of the company should travel with the same feelings Violet has, and that holds the key to the production's success," Fujita said.
Kaisa Hammarlund, who plays Violet, comes from Sweden. She was in her 20s when she came to London. There are also staff members from various countries, such as Turkey and Pakistan.
"I thought I was the odd one out but turned out I was wrong," Fujita said. "Everyone is Violet, and I could become aware of a universal theme that each person feels lonely and has his or her personality, and hence is beautiful."
The production premiered on Jan. 21. Fujita changed the seating arrangement of the theater so that audience members were split into two groups facing each other, with the stage in between. He also had nearly all the cast members sit on the onstage bus in the final scene.
"I reckoned that the audience were passengers of the bus, too, and posed a question, 'Where is this era heading to?'" he said.
In spring next year, he will direct a Japanese version of the production with a completely new cast.
"Kaisa is a very good singer, but she put importance on delivering the words and opted not to project her singing. In the Japanese version as well, I hope the role will be played by someone who can convey the words to the audience," said a smiling Fujita.
Rave reviews
The London performances of "Violet" will continue through April 6.
The production was nominated for the Off West End Theater Awards in five categories, including best musical. The winners of the awards will be announced in February next year.
Theater review websites cite rave reviews, such as, "This is most likely going to be my most favourite musical production for 2019" and "Arguably the most emotionally intelligent musical in London."
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