Anjin: The Shogun & The English Samurai At Sadler’s Wells London

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Anjin: The Shogun & The English Samurai At Sadler’s Wells London

January 15, 2013 Diverse Japan Leave a comment Go to comments

A magnificent 3-hour stage production set in 17th Century Japan!

Gregory Doran’s production of ANJIN: THE SHOGUN & THE ENGLISH SAMURAI, written by Mike Poulton with Sho Kawai, will play eleven performances at Sadler’s Wells Theatre from 31 January to 9 February 2013, with the press night on Thursday 31 January.

William Adams, the “blue-eyed samurai” known in Japanese as Anjin, was an English maritime pilot. Washed ashore on a strange and exotic land, Anjin soon found himself as the trusted adviser to a powerful Shogun, drawn to the heart of a dangerous clash of cultures and struggle for power, whilst war threatens to erupt. Torn between two worlds and two lives, he must decide who he really is, and where he really belongs. ANJIN tells an epic and compelling tale of friendship, honour, love and sacrifice. This new production stars the celebrated Japanese actor Masachika Ichimura as the Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa, with Stephen Boxer in the title role and an international cast from Japan and Britain. The play is performed in English and Japanese with surtitles.

Anjin - The Shogun and the English Samurai

ANJIN examines the life of a man who served as a vital conduit for Western culture and will launch the celebrations in 2013 of the 400th anniversary of the start of Anglo-Japanese diplomatic and trade relations.

Originally presented in Japan in 2009 to mark the 50^th anniversary of leading Japanese entertainment company HoriPro Inc., ANJIN will be HoriPro’s first return to Sadler’s Wells since its visit in 2003 with Hamlet directed by Jonathan Kent.

Masachika Ichimura is one of Japan’s leading actors, where he created the roles of the Engineer in Miss Saigon and the title role in The Phantom of the Opera. His only previous appearance in the UK was in Ninagawa’s production of Pericles at the National Theatre in 2003.

Stephen Boxer’s roles with the RSC include William Tyndale in Written on the Heart (for which he has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor in the Theatre Awards UK 2012) and Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew. Appearances at the National Theatre include The Holy Rosenbergs and Aristocrats. He has played featured characters in the television series Garrow’s Law, Prime Suspect II, III and IV, and Doctors.

Director Gregory Doran is the Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. His production of The Orphan of Zhao opened in the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon on 8 November. His most recent RSC productions include Julius Caesar as part of the World Shakespeare Festival, and David Edgar’s Written on the Heart. Writer Mike Poulton’s previous adaptations include Schiller’s Don Carlos and Luise Miller, both directed by Michael Grandage.