Theatre

Directed by Yukio Ninagawa, a leading figure in Japanese contemporary theatre, and performed by Saitama Gold Theater, “Ravens, We Shall Load Bullets” will be staged in Hong Kong next week. Featuring more than 30 actors aged over 75 on average, the production offers a breathtaking revolution in acting norms as the story of a gang of elderly armed rebels taking over a court unfolds.

Saitama Gold Theater comprises a remarkable group of elderly performers. Without training before joining the group, they have successfully learnt to draw on decades of experience to develop a unique and naturalistic acting style under the guidance of Ninagawa.

“Ravens, We Shall Load Bullets” is a thought-provoking work written by playwright Kunio Shimizu in the 1970s. In the story, the solemn trial of two young protesters, who are in court for throwing explosives, is suddenly disrupted when a gang of elderly women breaks into the courtroom with broomsticks and bombs. Disregarding rules and standard behaviour, the grannies turn defendants into plaintiffs and prosecutors into hostages, and they even have to fight the renewed flames of desire.

True battlers in their roles and in reality, the elderly performers constantly test their own limits and those of theatrical convention, breathing life experience into characters to create a profound impact. The programme is a radical reworking of the possibilities of both stage and old age.