Stage Play "Naigen (2022 Version)" Review 2022/06/25

Performance Title: "Naigen (2022 Version)"
Theater: Shimokitazawa Ekimae Gekijo
Troupe/Production: Agarisk Entertainment
Written and Directed by: Tomo Tomosaka
Cast: Shunpei Kohinata, Miyu Hata, Rika Okamura, Mami Miyashita, Daiki Nakagawa, Kiyoka Tanigawa, Shotaro Omi, Riku Nakamura, Sota Kimura, Sei Hayafune, Shintaro Kamiyama, Ui Hinagata, Ren Furuya
Performance Period: 6/21–6/26 (Tokyo)
Running Time: Approx. 125 minutes
Keywords: Youth, Comedy, Conversation-based play, Funny
Personal Satisfaction: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

I saw "Naigen" for the first time, the signature work of the troupe "Agarisk Entertainment" led by Tomo Tomosaka, which has been restaged by other troupes, in high school theater, and in produced performances.
This was also my first time seeing an Agarisk Entertainment performance.
This "Naigen" is apparently being performed as the "Naigen (2022 Version)," with a completely new cast and refined content.

The story is set at a "Content Limitation Meeting" (Naigen) held during a high school cultural festival, the "Koryo Festival," to deliberate on each class's exhibits.
Representatives from each class gather in a meeting room for the Naigen to discuss their exhibits under the guidance of the executive committee.
However, the school has issued a rule that some class must host an exhibit themed around "Energy-Saving Eco-Action."
If they fail to comply with this rule, the cultural festival will not be open to the public this year.
The spirit of "Naigen" is to make decisions autonomously so that everyone is satisfied with how the cultural festival is conducted.
The question is, what will become of each class...?

I had heard that it had been restaged many times and was highly acclaimed, and after seeing it, I truly felt its brilliance firsthand.
I believe this is a page of youth that everyone goes through at least once. I personally don't like the atmosphere of class discussions, and watching it brought back painful and unpleasant experiences from my own past, so there were parts that felt a bit raw. However, the passion with which each student argued for their class's exhibit, as well as the bittersweet nature of the romantic relationships between the boys and girls, filled me with a very nostalgic feeling.
The appeal of a youth drama lies in the way it highlights the unique emotions that can only be experienced in such a play, where the raw pain of strained human relationships is mixed with the intensity of romance and the kind of fervor that only students can possess.
It made me realize that once again, and I felt deeply that youth dramas are wonderful.

The cast members were all people whose acting I was seeing for the first time, and while they were all young, they were very passionate and skilled. It was nothing short of wonderful.
The stage set and costumes were also very refined; the blackboard, desks, and chairs really felt like a school classroom, and the mix of uniforms and class T-shirts felt very nostalgic and typical of a cultural festival.

Since it is a work that is true to life for high school students, it makes perfect sense that it is also performed in high school theater.
The story is very easy to understand and there are many laughs, so it is a theatrical work that I can confidently recommend even to those who have never seen small-theater plays.

[Motivation for Viewing]

I had wanted to see an Agarisk Entertainment performance for the past two years, but the timing never worked out. However, since this Agarisk Entertainment performance was an extra-curricular show featuring many young cast members whose names I had heard of, and it was "Naigen," the most famous play in small-theater, I decided to go see it without hesitation.

[Story/Content] (*Contains spoilers)

Accompanied by flashy lighting and music, the high school students appear and rearrange the desks and chairs into a square to conduct the meeting.
With their backs to the blackboard, Cultural Festival Executive Committee Chair Shunpei Kohinata (Shunpei Kohinata), Vice-Chair Rika Okamura (Rika Okamura), Secretary Mami Miyashita (Mami Miyashita), and Audit Committee Chair Miyu Hata (Miyu Hata) sit in a row.
At the desks arranged in a U-shape around the blackboard, the first-year students sit on the east side: Daiki Nakagawa (Daiki Nakagawa) from Class 1-1, group name "I Saves the Earth"; Kiyoka Tanigawa (Kiyoka Tanigawa) from Class 1-2, group name "3148 (Thirty-One Forty-Eight)"; and Shotaro Omi (Shotaro Omi) from Class 1-3, group name "Obaka Yashiki (Ghost House)."
On the west side sit the second-year students: Riku Nakamura (Riku Nakamura) from Class 2-1, group name "Umi no Yeah! (Sea Yeah!)"; Sota Kimura (Sota Kimura) from Class 2-2, group name "Ice Creasmas"; and Sei Hayafune (Sei Hayafune) from Class 2-3, group name "Hawaiian."
On the south side sit the third-year students: Shintaro Kamiyama (Shintaro Kamiyama) from Class 3-1, group name "Kacho Fugetsu (Flowers, Birds, Wind, and Moon)"; Ui Hinagata (Ui Hinagata) from Class 3-2, group name "Dosojin (Road Ancestor God)"; and Ren Furuya (Ren Furuya) from Class 3-3, group name "Dosamawari (Touring)."
At this high school, the "Content Limitation Meeting" (Naigen) to deliberate on each class's exhibits for the "Koryo Festival" is being held daily, and since the activity suspension period (due to regular exams, I believe) starts tomorrow, today was the last day they could gather after school to discuss.

A school announcement plays. The Cultural Festival Executive Committee Chair is told to come to the staff room immediately. Kohinata declares a break until he returns and heads to the staff room.
Omi from "Obaka Yashiki" seems to like Tanigawa from "3148," but he keeps his feelings hidden. Meanwhile, Nakamura from "Umi no Yeah!" is flirting with the executive committee secretary, Miyashita. And Hayafune from "Hawaiian" seems sleepy.
Executive committee secretary Miyashita and vice-chair Okamura are very close, and if anything, they are more interested in going to the beach to play during their high school summer than discussing things in a meeting room. They ask the quiet and serious audit committee chair, Hata, to go to the beach with them, but Hata refuses, saying she is too busy with committee work. Miyashita and Okamura make fun of her attitude.

The executive committee chair returns. The Naigen resumes, and the chair reveals what the teachers instructed him to do in the staff room earlier. It is that one class must take on an exhibit calling for energy conservation called "Energy-Saving Eco-Action" for this year's cultural festival. And if they decide not to accept this request, the cultural festival will not be open to the public this year.
The students argue that such an unreasonable instruction from the school is absurd, and it becomes a huge commotion.
The executive committee decides to have the nine class representatives vote on whether to agree or disagree with the school's request. The vote is split right down the middle, with 5 votes for and 5 votes against. They wonder why there are 10 votes when there should only be 9 people, and upon investigating the cause, they find that Hayafune from "Hawaiian" voted for both. When they vote again, it becomes 4 for and 4 against, and Hayafune from "Hawaiian" didn't vote for either. It seems she didn't quite understand the situation.
Then the third-year students threaten that if "Hawaiian" votes against it, the cultural festival won't be open to the public, and ask if that's really okay. Hayafune from "Hawaiian," finally understanding the situation, votes in favor, leading to a situation where one of the nine classes must accept the "Energy-Saving Eco-Action."

Now the discussion turns to which class will take on the "Energy-Saving Eco-Action." Kimura from "Ice Creasmas" points out flaws in the shaved ice and parfait sales planned by "3148" and suggests that it might be impossible to implement, trying to push the "Energy-Saving Eco-Action" onto Class 1-2. He says that according to the "Koryo Festival" rules, the fruit inside cannot be cooked, and since pre-made food is prohibited, he doesn't know how they plan to sell it.
Following Kimura's opinion, representatives from other classes also agree with the flow that "3148" should take on the "Energy-Saving Eco-Action." The executive committee writes the nine group names on the blackboard and who is voting for whom.
However, Omi from "Obaka Yashiki," who secretly likes Tanigawa, votes for another group to protect her. Kimura's pressure from "Ice Creasmas" is strong, and the quiet Tanigawa starts to cry. Tanigawa tries to leave the classroom during the meeting, but the audit committee chair strictly forbids it, saying, "You must not leave the classroom during a meeting for any reason."
At that moment, Omi from "Obaka Yashiki" hands Tanigawa a handkerchief. Those around them cheer. When the executive committee asks Tanigawa who she will vote for, she says she will vote for "Obaka Yashiki," and also says "I'm sorry" with a double meaning. Omi is completely rejected by Tanigawa.

One of the class representatives suggests that instead of ganging up on one person like that, it would be fairer to deliberate on each class's exhibit one by one and then decide who will do the "Energy-Saving Eco-Action," and the discussion proceeds in that direction.
First, they discuss the exhibit for "I Saves the Earth" from Class 1-1. "I Saves the Earth" was planning to distribute paper fans and hold goldfish scooping, yo-yo fishing, and superball scooping by filling a pool with water, but it is pointed out that the paper fan distribution might overlap with the requirements of the "Energy-Saving Eco-Action." Nakagawa from "I Saves the Earth" says that if that's the case, they will remove the paper fan distribution from their plan. He says this way they won't be forced to do the "Energy-Saving Eco-Action."
However, this time, Hinagata from "Dosojin" pushes them to do it, saying that using water itself could be done together with the "Energy-Saving Eco-Action" water-sprinkling, but after much argument, Nakagawa resorts to the measure of not using water. He is then asked if that wouldn't just make it a ball storage area. Nakagawa insists, "But you can't complain about this anymore, right?"
Hinagata from "Dosojin" then brings up the unavoidable condition that they are the lowest grade, which makes Nakagawa furious.

Since they can't reach a conclusion, they move on to the review of the next class.
The exhibit for "3148" from Class 1-2 was already discussed, so they skip it and discuss the exhibit for "Obaka Yashiki" from Class 1-3. "Obaka Yashiki" is naturally planning to host a haunted house, but it's not just a regular haunted house; it has a new concept where the customers become the ghosts and scare other customers.
However, from a certain piece of graffiti, they discover evidence that Omi still likes Tanigawa, and votes suddenly gather for "Obaka Yashiki."
After that, from a certain conversation, Nakagawa from "I Saves the Earth" mutters a misunderstanding that Nakamura from "Umi no Yeah!" and executive committee secretary Okamura are dating. However, in reality, Nakamura and Okamura are not dating; the ones dating are Nakamura and Miyashita.
But the reason Nakagawa misunderstood was because he saw Nakamura and Okamura kissing. Miyashita then snaps and discovers an image on a smartphone screenshot that serves as evidence that Nakamura and Okamura were about to kiss. Nakamura desperately makes excuses that they weren't kissing, but he couldn't suppress Miyashita's anger and suspicion. Nakamura and Okamura were indeed kissing under the stars. Miyashita creates a hostile situation with both Nakamura and Okamura.

Nakamura, who had seen his stock plummet, desperately needed to go to the bathroom and pleaded to be allowed to leave the classroom. The committee chair called for a vote on whether or not to take a break, and since the vote went against taking a break, everyone refused to let Nakamura go.
Nakamura tried to force his way out of the classroom to go to the bathroom, but was told that if he did, he would be punished by having to perform the "Power-Saving Eco Action," so he couldn't go.
Finally, unable to hold it any longer, Nakamura grabbed Hayafune's tumbler from "Hawaii-an" and threatened to urinate in it. Screams echoed throughout the classroom. The prevailing opinion became that it would be better to let Nakamura go to the bathroom than to have such a mess, so they took a break until he returned.

Nakamura returned from the bathroom, but it seemed he hadn't made it in time, as he had changed his pants.
The auditor advised that since every third-year class was supposed to perform a play, they needed to get their scripts approved by the end of the day. At this point, only "Kacho Fugetsu" had not yet received approval, and it was decided that they could no longer perform their intended subject, "11 Cats."
Thereupon, Kamiyama of "Kacho Fugetsu" offered for Class 3-1 to take on the "Power-Saving Eco Action." Since they had no other material to perform, they had no choice.
The committee chair, expecting unanimous approval for "Kacho Fugetsu" to perform the "Power-Saving Eco Action," took a vote from the nine class representatives, but only Furuya Ren of "Dosamawari" opposed it. He was criticized by other classes for opposing it here, but he said, "If it's decided that 'Kacho Fugetsu' will do the 'Power-Saving Eco Action' like this, it wouldn't be like Naigen. Isn't the school festival about making decisions to do what we want to do proactively? Accepting something forced upon us by the school goes against our philosophy."

So, the class representatives desperately supplied ideas to make Kamiyama of "Kacho Fugetsu" want to do the "Power-Saving Eco Action" voluntarily. They turned "11 Cats" into "11 Eco-Cats," successfully blending the eco theme with the school's requirements.
Since Kamiyama said he wanted to do it, the committee chair took these words to Furuya and asked what he thought. Furuya also approved.

It was 6:30 PM, the time for students to head home. Everyone went home relieved that this year's Naigen had been settled successfully. Furuya and Kamiyama offered words of appreciation to the committee chair before leaving. The story ends here.

This is a work that packs in all the interesting elements of a youth story. The passion poured into school festival exhibits, the student-like mischief and uproar, and the romance—just watching this work brought back memories of my own youth, making for a luxurious viewing experience.
The script also had a very interesting premise. The way each class pushed the unreasonable demand from the school—that someone had to take on the "Power-Saving Eco Action"—onto others was like a microcosm of society. Also, the way the discussions kept veering off-topic was comical and fun to watch.
However, I personally didn't quite resonate with the intention behind Furuya's final objection, which felt like he was flipping the table. I will touch upon this in detail in the analysis section.

[Worldview & Direction] (*Contains spoilers)

Since the entire play takes place in a classroom turned into a conference room, there are no scene changes, and it proceeds at a high tempo without ever becoming boring.
I will look at the stage design, costumes, stage lighting, stage sound, and other direction in that order.

First, the stage design.
If you divide the stage into North, South, West, and East, the North side had the classroom blackboard and entrance, the center was the classroom stage, and the West, East, and South sides were the audience seats, making it a three-sided stage.
There were 13 wooden desks and chairs, typical of a school, for the number of people. Four chairs and desks were lined up on the North side, with Miyashita, Okamura, Kohinata, and Hata sitting in that order from the West. On the East side, three desks were lined up North to South, with Nakagawa, Tanigawa, and Omi sitting from the North. On the South side, three desks were lined up, with Kamiyama, Hinagata, and Furuya sitting from the East. On the West side, three desks were also lined up, with Nakamura, Kimura, and Hayafune sitting from the North.
The floor was also wooden, with a yellowish-brown color reminiscent of a classroom. There was a clock above the blackboard, and the committee members advanced the clock according to the scenes.
Overall, I liked how it recreated the classroom atmosphere very well. Also, this three-sided seating arrangement was good. There are often negative opinions about stages where the seats are arranged in a U-shape because the impression varies greatly depending on the viewing position, but with this arrangement, I feel like it would be enjoyable from any seat. And if you watched it from different seats, you might see something different, making it worth repeating.

Next, the costumes.
The costumes were either school uniforms or class T-shirts, but the costume plan was well-designed and reflected the characters of the students, which was interesting and had many highlights.
For example, Tanigawa of "3148" had a very serious character setting, and the way he wore his uniform neatly, combined with the feeling of being a first-year student, was a great costume plan. On the other hand, second and third-year students were more seasoned, so it suited them to wear class T-shirts.
As for the committee members, Hata, the auditor, wore his uniform properly, while Miyashita wore his uniform but with the chest slightly undone to show his personality, and Okamura's costume, which made you wonder if it was a uniform or a class T-shirt, was good.

Next, the stage lighting.
Basically, there are no scene changes, so the base yellow lighting was on the whole time. The only changes in lighting were in the opening scene where the cast appeared and rearranged the desks into a conference style, and the scene where the committee chair persuaded Furuya at the end.
First, the lighting for the opening scene was very pop and colorful, and the lights flickered and changed colors as if to match the cast's brisk actions of rearranging the desks. It was a very opening-like mood, full of the feeling that something exciting was about to begin, and I liked it.
I thought it was clever how the lights gradually dimmed when the committee chair was persuading Furuya at the end, as if to say, "How about this?" I think this was the scene they wanted to emphasize the most in the play. It felt somewhat poignant and tasteful.

Next, the stage sound.
Except for the opening, ending, and curtain call, basically only sound effects and recordings were played. There was no music during the play.
I liked the opening song, which was a pop, upbeat track that matched the lighting. Personally, it was heart-wrenching that Fujifabric's "Wakamono no Subete" played during the curtain call. It's a song I really like and it fits perfectly.
The announcements from the staff room were also easy to hear, which was good.

Finally, regarding other direction.
What I felt was best about this work was that there were many directions unique to theater. In theater, you don't just see the part cut out by the screen, but you can see the entire stage, so it's interesting because drama is happening among other cast members even while someone is talking. For example, while Tanigawa was being blamed, Miyashita and Nakamura were flirting the whole time, and Furuya was silent and looking down without saying a word from start to finish. That's why I expected that Furuya would have a major impact on the progress of the story near the end, like flipping the table (and indeed, this prediction was correct). I think the fact that the story progresses even in parts where no conversation is taking place, and that it is later properly recovered as foreshadowing, is the fun that can only be felt in theater, and this work made full use of that fun.
Also, it's interesting that "Content Limited Meeting Materials," which are given to representatives of each class, are distributed to the audience. I had the image that in basic theater viewing, you get the necessary information by watching the stage for as long as possible rather than looking at your hands, but I thought that watching the play while comparing it with the contents written in the meeting materials might also be a good thing. However, the audience lighting in my seat was too dark to read the text.

[Cast & Characters] (*Contains spoilers)

All the cast members appearing in this work were people whose acting I was seeing for the first time, but they were all fresh and enthusiastic, which was wonderful. Even so, the parts that were well-refined were indeed refined.
I will write about the cast members who left a particular impression.

First, Kiyoka Tanigawa of "3148." Ms. Tanigawa is the organizer of a group called 1999-kai. I had heard the name 1999-kai, but I assume it means they were born in 1999, so she must be 22-23 years old.
I really liked Ms. Tanigawa's acting, which had that serious and honest feel while also hinting at youthfulness. Especially in the beginning, when she is bombarded by those around her and starts to cry, it is very moving. It was such a perfect role for her.

Next is Shotaro Omine from "Obaka Yashiki." The gloomy, nerdy, and creepy vibe he exuded was exquisitely wonderful. The way he made those around him feel that he was targeting Tanigawa was incredibly spot-on, and I felt like he was responsible for most of the laughter from the audience.
I really liked how he felt like a student theater actor.

I was surprised by the energy of Riku Nakamura from "Umi no Yeah!" His intensity and physical activity in the second half were extraordinary. It was satisfying to watch him give his all for that role, and it was thanks to him that I was completely drawn into the stage in the second half.
The bit about him feeling like he was going to pee his pants, and the part where he cheated and got yelled at by Miyashita—it was all so characteristic and pointless, and I loved it.

Ren Furuya from "Dosamawari" remained silent and looked down the whole time, and being able to look forward to when he would explode was one of the wonderful aspects of this script. And Furuya lived up to those expectations, making it interesting to see him completely crash the mood of the meeting room.
I felt that I was quite drawn to such a cool and passionate character. Also, the way he became gentle and showed appreciation when speaking to the executive committee chair at the end was the best.

I also liked Shunpei Kohinata, who served as the chairperson; he really felt like "the" chairperson. He had leadership, was serious and sincere, but that seriousness sometimes created comical situations. It was perfect.

Personally, my favorite cast members were Audit Committee Chair Miyu Hata and Cultural Secretary Mami Miyashita.
Hata-san was exactly the cool, cold-hearted female student I expected, and it was great that she didn't betray that expectation. It was funny how she refused to let Tanigawa leave while sobbing, and how she calmly handled Nakamura's fuss about wanting to go to the bathroom. I also liked her spirit in not going when invited to the beach early on.
As for Miyashita-san, her look was personally my type. She was so realistic that I couldn't help but feel that there really are high school girls like this. The way she flirted with Nakamura and the way she snapped at him. That slightly flighty feeling was truly realistic. You could sense that she must have been popular with boys, which is why she had that attitude. It was wonderful.

[Stage Play Analysis] (*Contains Spoilers)

As I wrote at the beginning, I understood well why the play "Naigen" has been revived many times in small theaters, why it is used as a subject for high school theater, and why it is highly rated by small theater audiences. Since it is a youth story and the plot is very easy to understand, I can certainly recommend this as a work for someone to watch in a small theater for the first time.
Here, I will touch upon my impressions after watching this production and the reason why I was not convinced by Furuya's actions mentioned earlier.

Youth stories often involve school classes, so they tend to become ensemble dramas, and inevitably, bittersweet romantic elements get involved. There are works with strong comedic elements like this one, and there are also serious, claustrophobic contents like the movie "Sayonara."
However, what I felt was that in any case, the painful experiences of the past that could only be tasted during those school days come back to life. Personally, I don't think that's a bad thing at all, and because there is some new realization or discovery from it, I take it positively even if I feel it's painful.
For example, the scene where Tanigawa was attacked like a concentrated barrage and cried; although it's not the same situation, thinking that bullying the weak as a group and making them cry actually happened in school life makes it feel malicious now. Also, the way Miyashita and Okamura treat Hata as an eccentric behind her back—that atmosphere is also very realistic, so my student days come back to me, and some painful memories resurface.
Also, the feeling of searching for a culprit when a collective responsibility incident occurs in the class that is disadvantageous to everyone felt very close to this "Naigen," and negative memories of my student days resurfaced.
However, I don't think that reminding me of such negative memories is a bad thing. If I can look back and think that although I'm not experiencing it now, I certainly had such a painful time during my student days, I can think about living the present more firmly and doing my best.
Also, the memories of my student days that are recalled are not just bad ones; the passion of romance and everyone working toward one thing was very pleasant to watch, and I felt a little younger myself after watching it. I realized once again the charm of youth stories.

However, there is one part of this script that I cannot fully accept. That is Furuya's opposition at the end. Furuya says that since the school festival is about winning the freedom for everyone to do as they please as a principle of "Naigen," they should not obediently accept the school's request. He says it is important that they decide based on their own will.
Surely, including such a development at the end of this work could mean many things, such as wanting to strongly reflect the message of "being autonomous without swallowing what comes from above," or wanting to preach the importance of protecting traditional spirits. However, I felt it was unnatural that he took action to prioritize that, even overturning the flow where it was inevitable that "Kacho Fugetsu" would do the "Power Saving Eco Action."

I think this may also be influenced by the times. I remember this play was written in the early 2000s. It's a bit of an old script. At that time, I think it was respected to come up with ideas to cherish the spirit of doing things freely, rather than obediently following what was said from above.
However, it's different now. You can understand that if you think about the pros and cons of the theater industry's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone insisted that theater only works when performed live in a theater. I think that insistence is a norm or spirit within the framework of theater as it has been until now. However, the government is asking for theaters to be closed. Or to perform via streaming without an audience. Did they really succeed by fulfilling the spirit they had adhered to until now in response to such unreasonable instructions from above? No, they didn't. Conversely, those who provided value to people through online streaming succeeded afterward.
In this work, it means that instead of opposing the unreasonable order that some group should take on the "Power Saving Eco Action" with a rebellious spirit, it would be better to accept it obediently.
I might have felt uncomfortable with Furuya's actions because I don't know the old values well and live with current values. Surely, for those who have been involved in theatrical activities for a long time, Furuya's actions would be moving in a positive sense as a courageous and meaningful act.
In the end, it was made to seem like they wanted to weave the "Power Saving Eco Action" into the "Kacho Fugetsu" performance, and Furuya also reluctantly approved it. But then, it doesn't feel like it has changed much from the point where "Kacho Fugetsu" volunteered to do the "Power Saving Eco Action," so I couldn't fully understand the meaning of Furuya's resistance.

This is a bit of a selfish interpretation, but if it is the 2022 version of "Naigen," it might have been better to not only renew the cast but also have the script itself based on Reiwa-era thinking. Just as Ikiume's "Kansuu Domino" does. Theater works continue to live every time they are revived. They evolve by reflecting the times and social conditions. If there is an opportunity to revive "Naigen" next time, I would like to expect that point.