Program 2012

Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech

chelfitsch Theater Company (Japan)

Written and Directed by Toshiki Okada

Presented by Japan Society as part of The Public's Under The Radar Festival

Running Time: 65 minutes

$22 Tickets: japansociety.org or 212-715-1258

Japan Society 333 East 47th Street

chelfitsch returns to New York to perform Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech, the quirky triptych created by the internationally acclaimed playwright/director Toshiki Okada. Hot Pepper captures the empty and ungrounded nature of Generation Y in Japan today through three humorously absurd scenes set in a corporate break room. Characterized by a seemingly insubstantial narrative accompanied by exaggerated gestures-turned-choreography, the groundbreaking works of chelfitsch (Five Days in March and Enjoy) have drawn global recognition, making them a leading theater company in Japan and abroad.

"Okada…draws a hyperactive universe where gestures mean as much as words, where jazz is one with story…" -Le Soir

Supported by The Japan Foundation through the Performing Arts JAPAN program, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and The Saison Foundation. chelfitsch Theater Company would like to thank to Steep Slope Studio for the use of their rehearsal studios.

Performed in Japanese with English supertitles.

Photo: Toru Okada