Play Reading Series
Contemporary Japanese Plays in English Translation
Women in a Holy Mess

Ai Nagai. © Nobuhiko Honma.

One evening, a middle-aged single woman is found by her friends nearly buried in a heap of rubbish in her stylish condo.  It’s time to talk about wasted lives, memories and how to clean up this mess!

Tsunko, a woman in her 50s, just broke up with her boyfriend, 20 years her junior. When two of her childhood friends come to her apartment and find it in total disarray, it doesn’t take long for them to abandon cleaning the place and start adding to the chaos with their own stories, secrets and losses. Ai Nagai’s Women in a Holy Mess is a hilarious portrayal of post-menopausal life written by one of the most prominent and beloved female playwrights in Japan today. Co-founder of the acclaimed Japanese theater company Nito-sha, Nagai has won numerous awards, including the prestigious Kishida Kunio Drama Award, given annually to the best new Japanese play. Women in a Holy Mess will feature a cast of American actors led by award-winning director Cynthia Croot.

Following the reading, there will be a conversation between the project’s participating artists in both New York and Tokyo via high speed digital video network.  Students at the University of Illinois as well as our audience will be able to join the conversation.

Tickets
$10/$8 Japan Society members

Buy Tickets Online or call the Japan Society Box Office at (212) 715-1258, Mon. – Fri. 11 am – 6 pm, Weekends 11 am – 5 pm.