Shige to star in play "Modern Boys"
It was announced on Jan 25th that Shige will be starring in “Modern Boys”, his first stage play in about 3.5 years. This play was also performed by Kimura Takuya in 1994, and Shige will be playing the same role as Kimura did, Yahagi Kanade. Set just before the Second Sino-Japanese War, Yahagi is a student who aspires to be part of the Proletariat Cultural Movement. While trying to escape the pursuit of the police, he runs into a theatre, where he ends up becoming a popular revue performer and finding his place.
The play will be directed by Isshiki Takashi (“Kirin ga kuru”, "Ieyasu, Edo wo Tateru" etc.) and will run in Tokyo at the New National Theatre from April 3rd to 16th, and in Osaka at the COOL JAPAN WW Hall from Apr 28th to 30th.
Shige’s comments:
After reading the script, I felt that this is a work that ought to be performed now. The early, turbulent years of the Showa era saw overseas influences starting to show up in both ideology and entertainment, but these two ended up clashing. To not be able to create works that you want to due to censorship, or to not be able to perform plays as you wish… while the circumstances in 2021 are different now, there are definitely areas of resonation. Is it ideology or entertainment that can help a society become better? What does it mean to lead a life true to yourself? I’ll do my best to perform this role, passionately, to the best of my ability. Just like how Yahagi Kanade brought people enthusiasm and excitement through the revue.
Sources: Oricon, SCREEN Online, Yahoo, Official Site