Unique theatre installation experience by award-winning Japanese director and playwright coming to Lancaster

A renowned Japanese playwright’s latest theatre installation is coming to Lancaster this weekend.

Following presentations in Japan, Brazil and Peru, the Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts (LICA) and its Cultures Research Centre is bringing the European premiere of Dear Potential Foreigners, a performance installation conceptualised, written and directed by award-winning Japanese director and playwright Yudai Kamisato, to The Storey.

Born in Peru to Japanese parents and based in Japan, Kamisato’s works deal with the theme of crossing borders, based on the stories he collects while visiting various places in South America and Asia.

Kamisato will be in Lancaster for a two-week residency working on the theme of ‘movement’, ‘migrants’ and ‘tourists’ with Jerusalem-born professional stand-up comedian, Daphna Baram and visual designer Chengyi Zhou. Their collaboration will culminate in a unique experience within the gallery space of The Storey in Lancaster.

The installation will be open for six hours with performances approximately every two hours.

Yudai Kamisato, director and playwright said: ‘This work has been inspired by my own travels and stories collected in South America and Asia. I am hoping to collect more stories in Lancaster.

‘’My work raises many questions: can tourists really remain carefree and easy? What is the difference between immigrants and tourists? I am hoping to have enriching conversations about identity, migration, tourists and the current situation in the world with Jerusalem-born stand-up comedian Daphna. I invite audiences to join us on this journey.’

The creative team also includes as producer and for artistic research support Beri Juraic and stage manager Anja Bryan-Smith. The project is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council through the North-West Doctoral Training Partnership, The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, the Daiwa-Anglo Foundation, The Japan Foundation and Lancaster University’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences through its Postgraduate Research Funds.

Yudai Kamisato is an award-winning Japanese theatre playwright and director born in Peru and based in Japan.

His works on the theme of crossing borders have been presented at prestigious international theatre festival such as the Autumn Festival in Paris, Kunsten Festival des Arts in Brussels and Sydney Festival. He won the first prize in the Toga Directors Competition (2006) and the prestigious Kishida Kunio Prize for Drama for The Story of Descending the Long Slopes of Valparaíso (2018).

Tickets can be purchased via Ticketsource here https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/jbctex/e-qljgjk