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Forbidden Love – the Tale of OshichiAkiko Miyamoto & Helen Moulder
Whakatū/Nelson
Forbidden Love – the Tale of Oshichi is a new play by Japanese master puppeteer, Akiko Miyamoto and NZ actor Helen Moulder. It’s a true story from 17th century Japan about a greengrocer’s daughter who falls in love with the son of a Samurai, with tragic consequences. It’s also about Julia, a present day New Zealand woman in her 70s, and what happens when she comes across the story of Oshichi in Tokyo.
This is the first time Akiko and Helen, now both based in Nelson, have worked together, although in 2020 they shared the SHOPFRONT THEATRE in Collingwood Street (organised by MakeShift Spaces). Helen with her solo play The Bicycle & the Butcher’s Daughter and Akiko with Pop Up Little Japan.
The puppets are metre-high puppets called Bunraku. In Japan, Bunraku puppets are usually a male domain with three puppeteers each and a narrator telling the story. There is also Otome Bunraku, where the puppets are operated by a single female. In this collaboration, the two puppets are operated mainly by Akiko and occasionally by Helen.
Wellington director and dramaturg Jeff Kingsford-Brown helped with the script and as the director. Jeff directed Helen in Waiting for Gertie, A Vote for Cynthia, and Cynthia Fortitude’s Farewell and they have worked together as actors in Churchill (Circa), Mum’s Choir (Centrepoint Theatre) and two tours to Japan with Ken Hill’s Phantom of the Opera.
The set and props are created by Akiko. Music and sound is provided by Akiko and Helen, with songs, drums, bells and a Taishō koto (a Japanese stringed instrument that uses keys, similar to a typewriter or piano, to press down on the strings and change their pitch).
Previous Nelson Fringe appearances: Akiko: Yuki Onna (2016), Kaguya-Hime (2020), Jack and the Beanstalk (2023) and The Three Charms (2024). Helen: Cynthia & Gertie Ride Again (2023), which became Waiting for Gertie.
Keywords: theatre, music, puppetry, historical, new work
Event Details
When: 12 & 13 March at 6:00pm; 14 March at 4:00pm
Genre: Theatre
Duration: 60 mins
Price: $18
Venue: The Refinery ArtSpace
14yrs+ flashing lights or strobe, reference to suicide
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Refinery ArtSpace, 114 Hardy St ,Nelson, New Zealand
Tickets
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