Les Brigittines

“What if dad dies?” Wouldn’t it be a pity not to have a life insurance, to make his death somehow productive? Midori Kurata conceived this piece following an encounter with an insurance policy salesman. It echoes the financial crisis in Japan, during which some people ended their lives to get insurance payouts for their families. The family of this Portrait is made of desires: a mother who struggles to pedal uphill and dreams of an electric bike, a daughter who has wanted to take dance lessons for years, and a son who wishes to study photography. They move around the stage as lightly as figurines on a music box; they compose and decompose tableaux vivants of family life while an insurance salesman touts the benefits of a 5 million yen cash payout from the father's death. The daughter is a teenager, yet we see her older version (at last!) dancing The Nutcracker. The breathtaking climaxes of Tchaikovsky set a rhythm matched by the insistent salesman. With a background in classical ballet, Kurata is one of the most fascinating theatre-makers in Japan today. In this profound yet lighthearted piece bordering on comedy, she portrays the unfathomable aspects of family relationships and a capitalist society in which it would be a pity not to profit from any opportunity.