Theater freed from the "human yardstick," updating our vision of the world space, and language appear in unknown forms Through theater, an activity for people, is it possible to bring forth a world in which human beings, things, and the environment surrounding them all exist in a flat relationship? Earthwork construction aimed at raising the level of the ground to prevent damage from tsunami artificially altered the landscape with an amazing rapidity.
Toshiki Okada's idea for creating a work that questioned the "human yardstick" sprang from a firsthand look at this sight. Eraser Mountain, the resulting play, was prepared in collaboration with the artist Teppei Kaneuji, who continues to expand the domain of sculpture. In space cluttered with countless items, actors build a new relationship with objects, and audiences come to see the world with a new vision. Eraser Mountain had its world premiere in Kyoto in October While affected by the Covid pandemic, performances were subsequently held in New York in , and Tokyo, Vienna, and Paris in What will it show in to Tokyo, which experienced the threats out of human control posed by Covid?
After a hiatus of three years, chelfitsch will stage performances in Tokyo of this both ambitious and controversial work, which renovated its former methodology. The performance is not delivered to the here and now. Driven by the need to create this sort of theater, chelfitsch set about the task by pooling the esthetic sensibilities of Teppei Kaneuji and other participating members.
Eraser Mountain is theater that goes beyond humanity and radiates its light into the boundless future. We must recognize that what humankind has experienced or witnessed in common over the last few years has had an impact big enough to change our erstwhile perception of time, space, and the relationship between humanity and non-human existences.
As might be expected, even today, the world continues to be turning upside-down in the same way. Just where will this masterpiece too far ahead of its time land? Or will it continue to drift? The future course has a frightening aspect, but is also something to look forward to. People perhaps think about the existence of time unconnected with themselves.
