2019/12/07 Attended the stage play "Me at the Zoo"

Performance Title: "Me at the Zoo"
Theater: Theater Tram
Theater Company: Warui Shibai
Written and Directed by: Akira Yamazaki (Warui Shibai)
Music: Taro Okada
Performance Period: 12/4 - 12/8
Personal Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

【General Review】
This was a stage play I was very much looking forward to, as it was written and directed by Akira Yamazaki of Warui Shibai, featured an actress who appeared in the drama 3A, and I had heard that live music would be incorporated into the performance. However, this production truly exceeded my expectations and was a wonderful work.
Above all, the collaboration of stage sets, lighting, live music, and video was the highlight of this work, and that alone was enough to make it a masterpiece. On top of that, the script, which skillfully depicts a human drama set in a zoo and effectively expresses the problems facing modern society, was truly wonderful. It felt just like the work of a genius, Akira Yamazaki—who, by the way, also had a significant role in the play. It was a production that made me want to continue watching stage plays written and directed by Yamazaki.

【Motivation for Watching】
Personally, I like both the direction and the cast of Warui Shibai, so I decided to watch it. Since it was a stage play set in a zoo, I thought the cast would all be dressed as zookeepers and depict the daily life of a zoo, but judging from the synopsis and the flyer, it was quite a serious story, contrary to that image.
I also learned just before the show that they would be making full use of video and that the sound would be live music. I also found out just before that the heroine, Mikoto Hibi, had appeared in the NTV drama "Mr. Hiiragi's Homeroom" (3 Nen A Gumi). With such an attention-grabbing cast, my expectations for this Warui Shibai production were high.

【Story and Content】
In the play, the story progresses with a jumbled chronology, but for the sake of writing, I will record the story in chronological order.

Niini Koson (Yuki Fujiwara) and Nao (Mikoto Hibi) are siblings who have often visited the zoo since they were small. Nao loves it especially and dreams of working as a zookeeper in the future. Nao successfully passes the interview and starts working as a zookeeper. However, while being scolded by her seniors for doing work on her own initiative, Nao is selected to be the caretaker for Hitoshi Gomatsumoto (Junpei Ueda), who lives in a zoo cage.
Meanwhile, her brother Niini forms a comedy duo called "Koson New Year" with his partner Kiichi Imafuku (Akira Yamazaki) and uploads comedy videos to YouTube. A YouTuber named Yami Koizumi (Reiko Tanaka) also admires them and joins them in their videos, but they struggle to gain views, channel subscribers, and likes.
In the midst of this, Niini, learning that he can no longer contact Nao, goes to the zoo to track her whereabouts and discovers that Hitoshi Gomatsumoto has locked Nao in the basement of the zoo. Feeling angry at the person who laid a hand on his sister, Niini gets into a violent altercation with him and is sent to prison.

Through the structure of animals and humans separated by zoo cages, prisoners and ordinary people separated by prison cages, and YouTubers and viewers separated by YouTube videos, the story depicts the harshness of modern society. As it becomes increasingly serious halfway through, I was drawn in, and I thought it was amazing how they could skillfully connect such subject matter to social issues. As I thought when I watched "Kaibutsu," I was impressed that it was indeed a script by Akira Yamazaki.

【Worldview and Direction】
The biggest highlight of this stage play is the collaboration of the stage sets, lighting, sound from live music, and video.

First, regarding the stage sets, as I felt when I went to see "Ice Tokeru to Yabai," Warui Shibai is a theater company that builds solid stage sets, and it is interesting that they incorporate mechanisms that allow the cast to play with the sets.
For example, in this play, there is a tall set on stage left, but because there are steps along the way, it is built so that you can climb to the top like playground equipment. In fact, the scene where Nao and Hitoshi race from stage right to the top of the set on stage left, and Hitoshi climbs up the steps all at once instead of one by one to reach the top first, was very interesting as a scene that made good use of the set.
Also, a huge cage was set up in the center of the stage, which was an intense set in a good way that left an impression of the entire stage as a zoo. In the scene near the end of the story where Niini is sent to prison, that magnificent cage is used as a prison cell.

Next, regarding the sound, the live performance by the musicians waiting at the back center of the stage was a masterpiece. There were five musicians in total, using instruments such as drums, bass, guitar, trombone, and piano. By adding a trombone to the band, the sound of "buoon" reminiscent of an elephant echoed throughout the stage, which was very impressive. The quiet songs with only piano also matched the serious scenes in the second half very well, and above all, the power of the band's live performance during the opening and ending gave it an atmosphere unique to a musical play, with the sound pressure echoing throughout the stage.
Also, the effect of adding an echo to the cast's lines in the night zoo scene was a very detailed and elaborate production that I liked, although I didn't quite know how they were doing it.

And the video; the screen descends just behind the cage in the center of the stage only when necessary. It was a bit regrettable that the cage got in the way and made it quite difficult to see the video. Since the video drives the story in scenes like the YouTuber's video scenes, I honestly wish they had put a little more effort into improving that issue.
However, the screen effect where the kanji for animals were flashed in the opening and people wearing animal masks went back and forth was a very modern atmosphere and I thought it was a very good production.

Finally, the lighting was very colorful, and the way it illuminated the leaves of the stage set was very stylish and beautiful. There was live music, and it was enjoyable enough just for that. Personally, I liked the lighting that imaged the morning sun and the lighting that illuminated the front in a white line.

【Cast and Characters】
In addition to the familiar cast of Warui Shibai, the play featured prominent guest actors.

Yuki Fujiwara, who plays the protagonist Niini Koson, had an incredible presence in the scene where he grapples with Hitoshi, which was the biggest highlight. He was a very good actor, with a gap between that and when he was messing around with his comedy sketches as the comedy duo "Koson New Year".
Mikoto Hibi, who plays his younger sister Nao Koson, is an up-and-coming actress who also appeared in the drama "Mr. Hiiragi's Homeroom." As a character, she played a young woman who dreams of working at a zoo, and it was good that she skillfully expressed her earnest and straightforward personality. It was also good that she acted in a way that made one speculate that she might not be fitting in well in society or in human relationships, as she was a plain character wearing glasses.

Focusing on the Warui Shibai cast, the performances of Akira Yamazaki as Kiichi and Junpei Ueda as Hitoshi Gomatsumoto were brilliant.
Yamazaki played an incredibly funny role in "Ice Tokeru to Yabai" and was intense, but this time he was a bit calmer and played an unsuccessful comedian as Niini's partner. Being able to perform without intentionally making his presence too strong is also important as an actor, and I thought Yamazaki, who can do that brilliantly, was amazing.
Conversely, Ueda has long hair and a high voice, so he is an actor with quirks, but I thought that was precisely why he could play Hitoshi and bring out that inhuman, animal-like feeling.

As for the others, Hikari Nigo, played by Kantaro Kubo, had a very fitting atmosphere as a cheerful middle-aged man who could be anywhere, and Reiko Tanaka, who played the YouTuber Yami Koizumi, was a powerful and tomboyish woman who created a very good atmosphere for the stage, and I personally liked her, including her costume. Her opening act using video was also novel and interesting.

Overall, the story structure, which gives a glimpse into the circumstances of each character, was good and made it easy to empathize with them.

【Depth of the Stage】
Since the characters depicted as the axis of the story are mainly the Koson siblings, I will talk about the work by focusing on them.

The older brother, Niini, wants to become famous by doing comedy sketches as a YouTuber comedy duo, uploading them to videos, and earning views, channel subscribers, and likes. People who support him from the shadows include his sister Nao, his fellow YouTuber Yami, and the zoo director.
However, gaining popularity is not that easy, and he struggles with not being able to sell his name forever, gets arrested and sent to prison, or goes astray by doing things that go too far, such as uploading an apology video, creating something that isn't even funny, and even his girlfriend, Tenko Kijima, loses interest in him.
This part was interesting because it had something in common with the movie "JOKER." Laughter is something that can only be obtained through a relationship of trust; it is easy to break that once, but it is very difficult to return to the original state from there. The point that they are depicted like animals in a zoo trapped in such a curse is very interesting.

On the other hand, Nao, the younger sister, though not detailed in the play, has not been very successful in her human relationships in society, and the zoo was the only salvation for this dropout. She found living in society itself painful, much like the animals in the zoo cages. However, by secluding herself in the basement of the zoo, she was liberated from that.
That is why she remarked to her brother that she thought he could have changed more if he had stayed in prison longer. Perhaps the zoo for her was what prison was for her brother—something that releases the curse hanging over them. In the end, it was good that 'Koson New Year' succeeded as a respectable comedy duo in the public eye.
Also, regarding the darkness of YouTubers, I, who was a truant, was cheered up by watching 'Koson New Year' videos, which led me to start going to school. 'Koson New Year' broke the curse for me.

It made me think that perhaps people live by influencing each other in that way. Yamazaki-san is truly impressive for being able to describe that using the metaphor of zoo animals.

[Memorable Scenes]
First, the coolness of the opening video; it was so moving and powerful that it made me wish I could create something like that.
In the play, the intensity of the scene where Shin-nen attacks the protagonist during a thunderstorm was a sight to behold, with the live music, thunderstorm sound effects, and lighting all coming together.
As for a funny scene, the sketch where Zomura-san tears off his own nose and hands it over didn't get much laughter from the audience, but personally, it really hit the spot for me (this is the kind of thing that makes me think I could become a fan of 'Koson New Year').
Also, the scene where Nao starts cleaning the zoo on her own and gets scolded by her senior, Satori Kojima, somehow touched me. Perhaps it's because it's a relatable experience for a new employee.