iaku is a theater unit created by playwright YOKOYAMA Takuya in Osaka. YOKOYAMA’s many works are characterized by their piquant colloquial Kansai dialect. He has won praise for his humorous touch in shows highlighting the universal problems of people and the dramas surrounding them through dialogue, discussion and clashes among the main characters.

“Stitchers” features the crisscrossing of quarrels between two unrelated families. One pair is two brothers whose cancer-stricken mother, having learned she has little time left, seeks a “dignified death” and does not want to be kept alive artificially. This sparks a collision between the elder brother, who insists they must do anything necessary to keep her alive, and the younger brother, who wants to respect her wishes. The other pair is a couple who have just bought their own home. They had promised not to have children, but the wife suspects that she has become pregnant. The discussions between the two pairs can be humorous but are always heartfelt. Dealing with the death of a parent or whether to have a child is a life choice faced by many people and one with no right answer.
Two women separate from the couples sit on stage sewing fabric throughout the show. The sewing needles also recall the hands on a clock. As the time passes, the show considers questions related to the beginning of a life and the end of another.

2017
in→dependent theatre 1st

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: YOKOYAMA Takuya
Performers: OGATA Nobuhisa（MONO）, KONDO Fuku（PenguinPullPalePiles）, ITO Eriko（Aripe）, ICHIHARA Buntaro, SATO Sachiko（mizhen）, HASHIZUME Iyuri（Gekidan Akaoni）
Stage Manager: ARAI Kazuyuki, KITAJIMA Yasunobu
Lighting Design by: OKADA Junji
Sound Design by: HOSHINO Daisuke（Sound Weeds Inc.）
Dramaturg: UEDA Ikken
Promotional Art and Website Design by: SHIMOMOTO Hirohito（EIGHTY ONE）
Photo by: HORIKAWA Takashi（kutowans studio）
PR by: YOSHIDA Promotion
Associate Producer: KASAHARA Nozomi
Planning and Production: iaku
Supported by: Japan Arts Council

＜Subtitling Credits＞
Chinese Translation (Simplified): Shu LIN
Chinese Translation (Traditional): Muju TSAN
English Translation: YAMAGATA Mirei
French Translation: Eléonore MAHMOUDIAN
Russian Translation: Inga IBRAKHIM
Spanish Translation: José Antonio AMBRIZ

＜Promotional Text＞
YONEYA Naoko

End date of distribution: 8/2/2027