IKIGAI - a purpose for living - / Hybrid Show

IKIGAI, to me, is a work about connection and hope despite everything. The world is a cynical place, and full of pain. This work does not pretend otherwise. There are moments of abandonment and painful transformation. Many people claim that realism is wise, but this piece takes the stance that hope is always worth trying. You can find what you lost. You can reach out a hand, and someone will take it. You can separate and come together again, find new meaning in the things that were simple. ... full review

In a quick wiki search, “common features of the [Butoh] art form include playful and grotesque imagery, taboo topics, extreme or absurd environments … traditionally performed in white body makeup with slow hyper-controlled motion.” The facial contortions performed must have been so much fun to rehearse. Nobody’s getting a double chin in this cast! When joy radiates out of the mouth, eyes and chest, we can see it! Even in non-Butoh life! And pain? I concluded that pain mostly lives in the betrayed chest and throat, unexpressed, primed to take over the heart. And writers will appreciate how “Ikigai” creatively limited its dialogue to truncated versions of a Wordsworth quote. What this production managed to pull off with the Zoom plat... full review

Mesmerizing! It created an inexplicable feeling of calm, gratitude, joy, and healing. I thought they made an incredible and unique use of the virtual medium, the way they interacted with their space, each other, and the audience/camera.... full review

Visually it was awesome. Mesmerizing images created by the production design, costumes and the technology choices. Great direction! ... full review

The show was artfully put together and had a great message. Highly recommend for anyone looking for an innovative and unique experience!... full review

Thank you for sharing a beautiful presentation about our life and taking me to the journey of appreciating our life. This show really spoke to the most vulnerable part of human beings and provided the opportunity to realize who we are. The multimedia presentation was used beautifully portraying the essence of the human life cycle as genuine as it can be.... full review

Ikigai is a beautiful story of love, loss, and finding your way in life that rings especially true right now. The hybrid approach, combining pre-recorded video with live camera work feels fresh, and is a respite from some of the less innovative Zoom theatre we have come to expect.... full review

Ikigai was a phenomenal physical theater experience. Encompassing the whole range of human emotion, Ikigai was an emotional experience that left me with gratifying insights and fascinating questions about my own quest for understanding my purpose for living. Creating memorable theater is difficult to do, yet Ikigai is a show that will keep me thinking about it for a long time both in wonder and excitement.... full review

When I watch it, I feel like this piece of art is trying to talk to someone that is absent. The remote coordination and disconnection of two, first cause the anger, and then lead them to go down to somewhere dark, and it is in that dark place, they meet again, they dance together, they find that remote coordination again, they are reconciled with themselves. “We will grief not.” This is a honest, deep touching piece. In the end, it might be the hole that lead us to the radiance, and lead the radiance to find us. This last sentence is from me to this beautiful work. ... full review