INTERVIEW: Meet Bo, Boo, Pickle from ‘One Green Bottle’
Photo: One Green Bottle stars Hideki Noda, who also wrote and directed and the piece. Photo courtesy of Terry Lin / Provided by Michelle Tabnick PR with permission.
One Green Bottle, the new show from write-director Hideki Noda, takes a close look at a society overcome by modern technology, consumerism, selfies and family strife. The show, which stars Hideki himself and is billed as a gender-bending farce, will be presented Feb. 29 to March 8 at La MaMa in Manhattan.
The show, with English translation by Will Sharpe, follows three characters with interesting names: Bo, Boo and Pickle. They are three members of a disordered family, according to press notes, and they are fighting over who will stay home to take care of the dog, affectionately called Princess.
Hideki is the artistic director of Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, a post he has served in for more than a decade. This engagement of One Green Bottle will serve as the play’s New York premiere, after it first played to London audiences two years ago. He was previously represented in New York in 2012 when his show, The Bee, was presented as part of the Under the Radar Festival.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Hideki, who is a professor at Tama Art University. In 1993, he established a theater company called NODA•MAP. His productions over the years have included everything from Footprint Princess to Under the Cherries in Full Bloom. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What inspired the creation of One Green Bottle?
I suppose the world at the moment is that the more we use a new technology, the less we think of others. To some extent, it’s natural that we always think of ourselves. But nowadays we are such ‘me, me, me!’ and love too much only our own community we are involved in. All over the world you can see the same phenomena.
What’s it like being writer, director and performer in the piece?
I get used to doing three for a long time. However, other actors sometimes have been at a loss in the rehearsal room because their director is on stage, not sitting in the director chair. After their getting accustomed to the situation they start to tell what and how they perform on their own, which makes the rehearsal room free. (Of course, sometimes just in a chaos.)
What does the play say about today’s society and how family members communicate with one another?
I wrote a sort of portrait of a disconnected family on a self-destructive course. It parallels to a portrait of today’s society that faces the issue about overconsumerism and too much technology in our ‘selfie’ community.
How’d you come up with the character names of Bo, Boo and Pickles?
Will Sharpe chose such English names. I had ordered him to give the English names which should sound silly and recollect the audience this is a sort of comedy.
What are some of the accomplishments you’re most proud of with the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre?
Before I became the artistic director, the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre (TMT) had just rent the space. Now theatre people and the audience comes to our theatre to be able to see and perform amazing plays we have been choosing. They trust us and come. Very few people had not known before where TMT was and what it did. But now we have lots of beautiful pieces and the audience.
When did you first become convinced that theater would be a lifelong passion?
At the opening night of a play that I wrote, directed and performed in my high school play club, I saw the audience’s happy face during the show and heard lots of compliment[s] I had never expected. Also in those days, I went to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Peter Brook that came to Tokyo. I felt the theatre could bring our happiness to us. So, even if it is a tragedy, it should have hope.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
One Green Bottle, written, directed and starring Hideki Noda, will play La MaMa Feb. 29 to March 8. Click here for more information and tickets.
