About the Play:

Arigato, Tokyo is a full-length drama by Daniel MacIvor. From the underground nightclubs of Tokyo to the hallowed stages of Noh Theatre, a visiting Canadian author is pulled into a world of obsession, sex, and longing. Arigato, Tokyo is a love story for our time, a play that juxtaposes two paradoxes: the Western conflict between individualism and purpose, and the Japanese tension between formality and passion.

Arigato, Tokyo is about a confident middle-aged Canadian writer who goes to Japan only to be thrown for a loop. On a Tokyo-area publicity tour, Carl Dewer finds himself chaperoned – Carl's word is "babysat" – by his translator, Nushi, who leads him to gigs and gets him food, drugs and sex. The smart, attractive woman has eyes for him herself. But when she takes him to see a Noh play and introduces him to her brother, a seductive actor, Carl is quickly absorbed by an affair with him instead. As his tour continues, he finds himself falling in love amidst the sacred stages of Noh theatre and the seedy dance clubs in Tokyo, wired on cocaine and sake. Based on The Tale of Genji, one of the world's oldest pieces of literature. From acclaimed author Daniel MacIvor comes a dark and meditative script that takes us into the centre of a clandestine Japan as experienced by a visiting outsider.

Arigato, Tokyo premiered in 2013 at at Buddies In Bad Times Theatre in Toronto and was nominated for eight Dora Awards.

Cast: 1 female, 3 male

What people say:

"...one of those unexpectedly unique evenings of theatre that we all hope for… a puzzle as artful as anything MacIvor has ever written." — The Toronto Star

"...a very mysterious, sexy, aesthetically impeccable show." — CBC

About the Playwright:

Daniel MacIvor is a Canadian playwright and performer. Recipient of the coveted Governor General's Award for Drama (Canadian equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize), two Chalmers New Play Awards, an Obie Award, a GLADD Award, the $100,000 Siminovitch Prize, and countless theatre awards across the country, he is one of Canada's greatest living playwrights.