Tonseisha - The Man Who Abandoned The World

Tonseisha tells the tale of Yukiko, a Japanese woman haunted by the loss of two men: her father, whom she barely knew, and Beat writer Richard Brautigan. Based on Brautigan’s life and work, multidisciplinary Tonseisha weaves karaoke into opera and dance into theatre across dreamscapes of Tokyo and Montana.

A 45-minute work in progress showing as part of Tête à Tête Opera Festival. Production developed through the Open LAB scheme at Barbican Guildhall and supported by Arts Council England.

Ensemble:
Kim Ashton (conductor), Philippa Boyle (soprano), Vera Chok, Ilze Ikse (flute), Gary Merry, Sean Patterson, Sophie Rivlin (cello), Austin Spangler, Chris Webb (bass), Yshani Yperinpanayagam (piano)

Music: Kim B Ashton
Digital music: Satoshi Date
Words: Erik Patterson
Director: Gary Merry

Inspired by the life and work of Beat writer Richard Brautigan, two-time Emmy-nominated American writer Erik Patterson wrote Tonseisha, a play. Since 2011, London-based theatre company saltpeter has drawn together exciting, international artists and technicians from disparate disciplines to use this text as fertile ground for developing not only a new version of the tale, but a new way of creating theatre.