The Attic

The Play Company presents The Attic, by Yoji Sakate, translated by Leon Ingulsrud and Keiko Tsunedo, and directed by Ari Edelson. The cast features Dana Acheson, Michi Barall, Liam Craig, Fiona Gallagher, Brandon Miller, Jesse Perez, Caesar Samayoa, and Ed Vassallo.

The English-language premiere of a dark comedy by celebrated Japanese writer Yoji Sakate, about hikikimori, a widespread phenomenon in Japan in which young people withdraw into their rooms, refusing any contact with the outside world. The play imagines a world in which a mysterious corporation manufactures tiny “attics” and sells them to people who “go hikikimori.”

Special Events

Thursday, March 8: Prior to the performance, playwright Yoji Sakate gives a talk tomorrow on Contemporary Japanese Theater 6:30-7:30 pm at 59E59 Theaters. Tickets are $10.

Tuesday, March 13: Sakate will also give a post-show talkback along with director Ari Edelson and members of the cast.

YOJI SAKATE is an award-winning theater director, playwright, and founder of Japan’s Rinkogun Theater Company, where he is the primary writer and director. He also writes and directs outside the troupe, with performances in 15 cities and eight countries, including joint works with artists outside of Japan. He is President of the Japan Playwrights Association and Director of the Japanese Theatre Directors Association, and the author of numerous collections of criticism and plays. In his plays, Sakate explores social problems from a journalistic perspective through themes of the conflict between the social collective and the individual.