Maekawa Tomohiro is acclaimed for theater pieces that reconsider the state of society and the world through ghost stories and science fiction. This work, one of the representative works of his theater group Ikiume, begins with the arrival of a meteorite with special properties.
A meteorite falls into the mountains of Konrin-cho (a fictional city often appearing in Maekawa’s works) in 2001, and a strange corpse is discovered nearby. The cause of death was emaciation. An amateur astronomer and his friend find the debris and come to realize that those who saw the meteorite shared a feeling of euphoria that made them forget about eating, drinking and sleeping. Soon, 300-meter pillars with the same properties are discovered all over the world, bringing humanity to the brink of extinction.
Half a century later. Having noticed that pillars appear only in densely populated areas, people now live in small villages, which have to adjust to the new residents. Society now deifies the pillars and has returned to a life centered on agriculture and fishing. A new human species emerges that is unaffected by the pillars… Did the pillars bring disaster or liberation? This work is an intellectual entertainment that encourages people to ponder what is truly necessary for life and happiness.

2019
Theatre Tram

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: MAEKAWA Tomohiro
Performers: HAMADA Shinya, YASUI Junpei, MURAKAWA Eri, OHKUBO Hitoe,
ICHIKAWA Shinpee, MATSUOKA Izumi, YAKUMARU Shou, MORI Ryuuji, MORISHITA Sou, HIGASHINO Ayaka
Music by: KAMIMURA Shuuhei
Scenographer: TOKI Kenichi
Stage Manager & Dramaturg: TANIZAWA Takumi
Lighting Designer: SATOU Kei
Sound Designer: AOKI Takuhei
Costume Designer: IMAMURA Azusa
Make-up Artist: NISHIKAWA Naoko
Choreography: SHIMOTSUKASA Naomi
Director assistant: SUDOU Kie
Promotional artwork: SUZUKI Seiichi
Producer: NAKAJIMA Takahiro
Planned and Produced by: HB Inc.

＜Subtitling Credits＞
Multilingual subtitling：
Supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Goverment of Japan through the Japan Arts Council

Chinese Translation (Simplified): Zhenzhen WU
Chinese Translation (Traditional): SWSG
English Translation: ABE Nozomi
French Translation: Pascale Doderisse
Spanish Translation: José Antonio AMBRIZ

＜Promotional Text＞
ONOUE Sora

End date of distribution: 25/1/2025