Basil Twist’s Dogugaeshi

Contemporary Puppet Theater

Wednesday, September 11 at 7:30 pm—Followed by a Private Gathering for Artists and Members – Sold Out
Thursday, September 12 at 7:30 pm—Followed by an artist Q&A – Sold Out
Friday, September 13 at 2:30 pm** (Sold Out) and 7:30 pm (Sold Out)
Saturday, September 14 at 2:30 pm** (Sold Out) and 7:30 pm (Sold Out)
Sunday, September 15 at 2:30 pm** (Sold Out) and 7:30 pm (Sold Out)
Tuesday, September 17 at 7:30 pm – Sold Out
Wednesday, September 18 at 2:30 pm** (Sold Out) and 7:30 pm (Sold Out)
Thursday, September 19 at 7:30 pm – Sold Out

Playbill (PDF) →

There will be no late seating for this program. Please make sure to arrive on-time or early.

Waitlist Information
We will take names for a waitlist for Dogugaeshi performances between September 13 and 19, beginning exactly one hour before each performance time and only in-person at the Box Office of Japan Society at 333 East 47^th Street. Only 1 ticket can be purchased per person. Please note that there will be no waitlist taken online or via phone. You must be present 10 minutes before the curtain time to claim and purchase the ticket. There will be no guarantee that tickets will be available for each of the shows listed. Please note that there will NOT be any waitlist for the shows on 9/11 and 9/12.

Limited to 75 per performance. (Seating: General Admission)

Dogugaeshi, the award-winning phenomenon by genius puppeteer Basil Twist, is back! Born as a Japan Society commission, this ever-innovative piece now celebrates its 20th anniversary. Enter a mystical world, where a mysterious white fox shepherds you through past and present Japan. Inspired by a disappearing traditional stage mechanism from Japan’s Awa region called dogugaeshi, Twist has created fusuma screens with stunning painted imagery that dance, slide, flip, conceal and reveal to pull audiences deeper into a brain-bending optical illusion. Dogugaeshi is a cross-cultural collaboration with master shamisen player and experimental musician Yumiko Tanaka, whose multi-layered music collage embraces everything from traditional tunes to popular songs.

“A gorgeous… cavorting… dance… it will come to you as far as you let it in.”
—The New York Times

**New York-based shamisen musician Yoko Reikano Kimura will perform for the matinee shows. Yumiko Tanaka will perform for all evening shows.

Part of the Ningyo! A Parade of Puppetry Series
September—December 2024

Save 20% when you purchase a ticket to any 3 programs in the Ningyo! A Parade of Puppetry Series (not including workshops). Offer only valid for tickets purchased in the same transaction.

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Images: Dogugaeshi © Richard Termine; Ningyo! A Parade of Puppetry Series: The Love Suicides at Sonezaki © Photo by Tomoko Ogawa; Basil Twist © Billy Erb.

The Ningyo! A Parade of Puppetry series is supported by The Jim Henson Foundation.

Dogugaeshi is supported by Doug and Teresa Peterson. Support for the international travel of Yumiko Tanaka is provided by The Japan Foundation.

2024-25 Performing Arts Season Support

The season is made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Additional, major support is generously provided by Doug and Teresa Peterson, Howard Gilman Foundation, and Jun Makihara and Megumi Oka. Endowment support is provided by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund, John and Miyoko Davey Foundation, and a leadership gift from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Program support is also generously provided by The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; Hisamitsu America, Inc.; Akiko Mikumo; Hiroko Onoyama; Richard and Momona Royce; Dr. and Mrs. Carl F. Taeusch II; Dr. Jeanette C. Takamura; Nancy and Joe Walker; Estate of Alan M. Suhonen; and Performing Arts Circle members.

All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. is the official airline of the Japan Society Performing Arts Program. Yamaha is the official piano provider of Japan Society.

Japan Society programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.