is one of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

's best-known and largest

theatre companies Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

. Shiki Theatre Company employs over 800 actors and staff, and stages about 2800 performances a year. Shiki Theatre Company operates nine theaters for their exclusive use. Originally, they staged

Shingeki was a leading form of theatre in Japan that was based on modern realism. Born in the early years of the 20th century, it sought to be similar to modern Western theatre, putting on the works of the ancient Greek classics, William Shakespeare, Moli ...

plays. However, in the late 1970s, they branched out into other forms of theatre found success by staging western and Japanese

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

s. Shiki is also known for producing original language musicals. One such example is the Showa trilogy, a set of three musicals about World War II and the aftermath. The series consists of '' Ri Kōran'', a musical about the famous

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endodemonym "Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manchu ...

n-Japanese singer; which tells the story of Japanese prisoners of war at an internment camp in Siberia; and about the trials of innocent B and C-class war criminals in Indonesia.

History

The Shiki Theatre Company was established in 1953 by Keita Asari (浅利慶太) and his company. The organization was established as a stock holding company in 1967.

Theatres

The Shiki Theatre Company owns and operates several theatres across Japan.

Tokyo

*Shiki Theatre JIYU – an approximately 500-seat theatre. *Dentsu Shiki Theatre UMI – an approx. 1,200-seat theatre; opened in December 2002. *Shiki Theatre NATSU – opened in July 2010. *The CATS Theatre – an approx. 1,200-seat theatre purpose-built for the Shiki production of ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

''.

Sapporo

*The Hokkaido Shiki Theatre – opened in January 2011.

Nagoya

*The Nagoya Shiki Theatre – an approx. 1,200-seat theatre; opened in October 2016.

Osaka

*The Osaka Shiki Theatre – an approx. 1,200-seat theatre; opened in January 2005.

Productions

Past and present productions by the Shiki Theatre Company include the following:

Original shows and adaptations

*, based on a novel by Jirō Akagawa *, based on the novel by Miura Tetsuo. *'' A Robot in the Garden''(ロボット・イン・ザ・ガーデン),based on a novel by Deborah Install

Showa trilogy

*''

Ri Koran was a Japanese singer, actress, journalist, and politician. Born in China, she made an international career in film in China, Hong Kong, Japan and the United States. Early in her career, the Manchukuo Film Association concealed her Japanese or ...

'' *'' Foreign Hill'' *''

Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for c ...

Children's theatre

*''

Anne of Green Gables ''Anne of Green Gables'' is a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery (published as L. M. Montgomery). Written for all ages, it has been considered a classic children's novel since the mid-20th century. Set in the late 19th century, t ...

'' * Maeterlinck's '' The Blue Bird'' (Sometimes re-titled: ''Dreaming'') *

Lloyd Alexander Lloyd Chudley Alexander (January 30, 1924 – May 17, 2007) was an American author of more than 40 books, primarily fantasy novels for children and young adults. Over his seven-decade career, Alexander wrote 48 books, and his work has been tra ...

's '' The Cat Who Wished to Be a Man'' *''The Emperor's New Clothes'' *'' The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her to Fly''(based on the book by ''

Luis Sepúlveda Luis Sepúlveda Calfucura (October 4, 1949 – April 16, 2020) was a Chilean writer and journalist. A communist militant and fervent opponent of Augusto Pinochet's regime, he was imprisoned and tortured by the military dictatorship during the ...

'')

Western shows

*'' Disney's Aida'' *''

A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dance ...

'' *''

An American in Paris ''An American in Paris'' is a jazz-influenced orchestral piece by American composer George Gershwin first performed in 1928. It was inspired by the time that Gershwin had spent in Paris and evokes the sights and energy of the French capital d ...

'' *''

Contact Contact may refer to: Interaction Physical interaction * Contact (geology), a common geological feature * Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye * Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects * ...

'' *'' Crazy for You'' *'' Equus'' *'' Evita'' *''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'' *''

Mamma Mia! Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent * Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlemen ...

'' *'' Andrew Lloyd-Webber's Phantom of the Opera'' *'' Le Passe Muraille'' *'' Spring Awakening'' *''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-19 ...

'' *''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe * '' Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' s ...

'' (2007–2016)

Family entertainment

*'' Disney's Aladdin'' (2015–present) *'' Disney's Beauty and the Beast'' (1995–2017) *''

'' (1983–present) *'' Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (2016–present) *'' Disney's The Lion King'' (1998–present) *''

Disney's The Little Mermaid ''The Little Mermaid'' is a Disney media franchise. The success of the 1989 American animated feature film ''The Little Mermaid'' led to a direct-to-video sequel, a prequel film, a spin-off television series, a musical, several video games, theme ...

'' (2013–present) *'' Disney's Frozen '' (2022–present)

References

External links

Shiki Theatre Company official website
Theatre companies in Japan {{theatre-stub