Fukushima, six years after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Wild boars have gone rampant in the area. Manabu, the eldest son of the SOEDA family, was attacked by a boar but was rescued by HATAYAMA, who works at a company doing post-quake reconstruction work. Manabu’s father Ryoji invites HATAYAMA to his home to thank him. Ryoji insists that Hatayama stay and eat his wife’s paella, but Hatayama firmly refuses.
Meanwhile, a young man comes every day to the top of a hill overlooking the railway tracks, hoping to see the train that was carrying his girlfriend when the line and station were swept away by the tsunami on that fateful day. At the same time, a woman named Midori is on a train heading north from Tokyo in search of her lover. She strikes up a conversation with other women on the train. Will she find her lover? What will happen with the men hoping to rebuild the disaster-stricken train line? With no resolution in sight, the dreams of those who have given up their search intersect with reality, and what emerges is a thing of beauty.
This is the third work created by writer/director IWAMATSU Ryo for Saitama Gold Theater, also featuring performers from Saitama Next Theater. This piece was honored with the 21st TSURUYA Nanboku Drama Award.

Saitama Gold Theater
The group emerged from a proposal by the late NINAGAWA Yukio when he took over as artistic director of Saitama Arts Theater, seeking to create a space where older people “can meet their new selves” through physical expression based on their personal histories. The project was launched in April 2006 with 48 persons selected from more than 1,200 applicants aged 55 and up. The group has focused on contemporary works by up-and-coming playwrights starting with their first show, IWAMATSU Ryo’s Picnic on the Ship, in June 2007, and has won great acclaim at home and abroad, including overseas performances. With the aging of the cast (average age over 80 years) as well as difficulties caused by the coronavirus, the group announced in July 2021 that it would end its activities within the year. Its performance of the classic The Water Station in December 2021 marked the close of its 15-year run.

2017
Saitama Arts Theater : Inside Theater (in Main Theater)

Presented by: The Japan Foundation (JF) (https://www.jpf.go.jp/e/)
In cooperation with EPAD (https://epad.terrada.co.jp/)

＜Performance Credits＞
Written and Directed by: IWAMATSU Ryo
Scenic Design by: HARADA Ai
Lighting Design by: IWASHINA Takeaki
Sound Design by: KANEKO Shinya
Costume Design by: KUREBAYASHI Miho
Choreographed by: IDE Shigehiro
Fight Choreographer: KURIHARA Naoki
Associate Directors: INOUE Sonsho, HIRUMA Haruko, MURATA Chihiro
Stage Manager: YAMADA Jun’ichi
Performers: Saitama Gold Theater, Saitama Next Theater, OKADA Tadashi

Video Documentation and Editing: Creative Be
Organized by: Saitama Arts Theater (Saitama Arts Foundation)
Planning and Production: Saitama Arts Theater (Saitama Arts Foundation)
Supported by: Japan Foundation for Regional Art-Activities, Agency for Cultural Affairs Government of Japan in the fiscal 2017
Festival/Tokyo 2017 Affiliated Program

＜Subtitling Credits＞
Chinese Translation (Simplified): Shu LIN
Chinese Translation (Traditional): Tzuchun LIU
English Translation: Gary PERLMAN
French Translation: FUJIMOTO Satoko
Russian Translation: Inga IBRAKHIM
Spanish Translation: José Antonio AMBRIZ

＜Promotional Text＞
YONEYA Naoko

End date of distribution: 8/2/2027