Setagaya Public Theatre and Soho Theatre presents
THE DIVER
by Hideki Noda and Colin Teevan
directed by Hideki Noda

Currently running at the Soho Theatre in the West End of London, from June 19 - July 19, 2008, "The Diver" is written by Hideki Noda and Colin Teevan, and directed by Hideki Noda.

Cast: Kathryn Hunter, Harry Gstelow, Glyn Prichard and Hideki Noda

More details at http://www.sohotheatre.com

This autumn,"The Diver" will open at the Theatre Tram at Setagaya Public Theatre in Sangenjaya, Tokyo, running from Sept. 26 -- Oct. 13, 2008.

More details at http://setagaya-pt.jp/theater_info/2008/09/the_diver.html

Folllowing his widely acclaimed and acutely topical 2006 production of "The Bee" at the Soho Theatre in London's West End, and having garnered a monopoly of 2007's theatre awards for the same work in Japan, Hideki Noda has now returned to the Soho Theatre with his latest original production, "The Diver." Noda wrote this psycho-suspense play inspired by the 11th-century Japanese romance novel "The Tale of Genji" written by the noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu and also by a Noh play titled "Ama (The Diver)." A Noh play "Ama"- Plotwise, the story describes a woman diver ("ama" in Japanese) who risked all to further her illegitimate son's future. In her death-defying dive, however, she drowned at the bottom of the sea -- though later, as a ghost, she met her son, who had become an important minister in their country. It was then that she told him his birth story and asked him to mourn her soul. The son responded with the highest respect, and his ghost-mother thanked him by showing him the mystical Dragon Dance. Previously, Noda drew huge acclaim from English theatre critics for his production of "The Bee" which caricatured the passive, downtrodden Japanese businessman Mr. Ido's fanatical retaliation against his unknown enemy Mr. Ogoro. This time, Noda has turned his attention to modern women's mental distress and paranoid behavior in an environment such as the intense, high-tech city of Tokyo. In creating this modern, sharp psycho-drama, the writer/director/actor has drawn not only on a real-life murder case in Japan, but also from the ancient but spectacularly complex love story conta ined in "The Tale of Genji" and the traditional Noh play "Ama" about women's deep wells of desire and latent passion.

Will you be laughing after seeing this play -- or simply leave the theater with mouth agape? Well, get to the Soho Theatre if you can ...