n June 1998, for the "Lectures du Monde Entier" at the Théâtre Gérard Philipe in Saint-Denis, I adapted for the stage Oriza Hirata's play : Tokyo Notes , which is a lengthy text for twenty actors. On that occasion, I met the author. One month later, I visited him in his theatre, in Tokyo, I followed him during his rehearsals. He introduced me to his crew, he took me off to the theatre and during these two weeks, we kept talking about our own methods, about the current situation of theatre in our respective countries, about what we wanted to do. Soon, we began to dream of a collaboration in two stages.

In April 1999, I will leave for Japan with a scenographer, a light designer and two actors who are my most loyal theatre fellows, in order to work on a play with Oriza Hirata and Japanese actors. We decided to work on Jean-Luc Lagarce's text : Nous, les héros which will be translated into Japanese on that occasion. The two french actors will not talk in Japanese. They will intervene during the show to play scenes or extracts of French theatre repertory, so that the public can hear the language, in agreement with the subject of Jean-Luc Lagarce's play. We will co-direct this production and the play will be performed at the Toga Festival and in Tokyo in May 1999. This will be our first experience of work in collaboration, as well as for the crews.

In June 1999, we will choose together, in Paris, the actors likely to participate in this project. Then, I will go back to Tokyo for a few months in order to work with Oriza Hirata on Tokyo Notes. This lengthy stay in Japan will be within the context of a "villa Médicis hors les murs du Japon". In december 1999, Oriza Hirata will come back to France with his scenographer and two actors. Together, we will rehearse Tokyo Notes, which will be performed in January 2000 at the Quartz in Brest, then in Saint-Denis and on tour.

In both cases, it will be a "co-direction". Our cultures being so different, it seemed necessary to enter into partnership. Indeed, how to "read" actors' signs when in everyday life, the expression of the most innocent feeling is different in a very subtle way. Between France and Japan, codes and ways to express feelings seem radically different. Without a "translator", we would be lost rapidly.

Frédéric Fisbach

1998