Archived: March 2006 – Actors play actors in ‘Life in the Theatre’
Hideki Sukenari / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
Masachika Ichimura and Tatsuya Fujiwara are to open Life in the Theater, a two-actor play by American playwright David Mamet, today in Tokyo under the direction of Paul Mirror.
The documentary-style play, about conversations between a veteran actor and a newcomer with star potential, will be the first in which Ichimura and Fujiwara have worked together.
Ichimura, who turned up for a Yomiuri Shimbun interview with his right thumb swollen and bandaged, having caught it in a door, joked that now he would be able to say his lines more convincingly when playing a scene in which his character, veteran actor Robert, accidentally injures his wrist. “When I injured my finger, I yelled something like, ‘Doshiyo!’ [Oh, no!]” Ichimura said. That is exactly the line he will deliver on the stage. “I am the kind of actor who can say lines only when I understand the feelings behind them. So I will be able to play my role perfectly,” Ichimura said.
Fujiwara, who will play the younger actor, John, was paying close attention to Ichimura’s words and acts while he was talking.
Fujiwara said Ichimura thoroughly absorbs the script and never compromises. “I had been working just with my enthusiasm and youth. I came to realize I wouldn’t be able to go further as an actor unless I started working like Ichimura,” Fujiwara said.
In the play, Robert enthusiastically speaks about acting methodology backstage, in the wings and in the dressing room. He also sounds off about actresses he has played with, his manager and the media. “It’s fun because when playing Robert I can say things I usually can’t say,” Ichimura said. “Robert is like me in terms of not eating at night to keep from gaining weight.”
John, meanwhile, gradually stops listening to the respected older actor as he starts playing more important roles. “There are many things I can sympathize with about John as an actor. For example, he loses his head when he misses his cue to appear,” Fujiwara said. “The play has real depth. It makes me think again about what actors and the theater are. But I still haven’t been able to understand even half of that,” he said with humility.
Ichimura, with 33 years of acting experience, has already turned in great performances in two other two-actor plays, Misery and Stones in His Pockets. He says a two-actor play is the most basic form of acting, since nothing will evolve unless relations between two people are well depicted. Comparing a two-actor play to a tennis or ping-pong match, Ichimura said “hitting a ball to an unexpected place, or striking it in sync with the other actor” was what he loved about his craft.
Fujiwara, who debuted in 1997, enjoys a growing reputation for gracious, but also passionate acting. One of the plays he acted in was Hamlet, produced by Yukio Ninagawa.
Speaking about Life in the Theater, his first two-man play, Fujiwara said he needs to “think ahead,” as otherwise he won’t be able to return the balls that Ichimura volleys from “many different places.” “I feel tension every day,” Fujiwara said.
Ichimura praised Fujiwara’s depth as an actor, saying he didn’t just depend on his good looks. “He is young and full of energy. We find that we are able to work together very well in the rehearsal room,” he said.
“Life in the Theater” will play March 30-31 and April 4-7 at 7 p.m., April 1 and 8 at 6 p.m., April 1-2 and 8-9 at 1 p.m. and April 5 at 2 p.m. at Theater 1010 in Kitasenju, Tokyo, (03) 5244-1010; April 12-14, April 18-21 and April 25-28 at 7 p.m., April 13, 19 and 25 at 2 p.m., April 15-16, April 22-23 and April 29-30 at 1 p.m. and April 15-16, April 22-23 and April 29 at 6 p.m. at Setagaya Public Hall in Setagaya Ward, (03) 3490-4949. Additional performances will take place later in Osaka, Sendai, Niigata, Nagoya, Kitakyushu and Nagasaki.
Source: Yomiuri.co.jp
