Tattooer – Charing Cross Theatre, London

Writer – Takuya Kaneshima (translated by Linda Hoaglund), based on the short story by Junichiro Tanizaki

Director – Hogara Kawai

In the middle of the Charing Cross Theatre auditorium is a round, rotating stage. It’s covered with parchment upon which is painted an image of a large spider. Hanging above, tracing the stage’s diameter, is a circle of Japanese lanterns bobbing around in the stormy weather and from afar is the regular chiming of a bell. It’s a simple setting but hugely effective and evocative, and within an instant, we are transported to Japan sometime during the Edo period (1603-1868).

Silently, Kazuyo ‘A’ (Mao Aono) enters, and lies face down in the centre of the stage. She is heavily sedated and physically lacks any control. Silently, she is joined by another lady who is herself from another time. Kazuyo ‘B’ (Aki Nakagawa) stands alongside and watches herself lying almost lifeless on the floor of a tattoo parlour, awaiting the arrival of the Shisei (Tattooer), Seikichi (Leo Ashizawa).

What follows is a story of the relationship between a tattooer and a very specific ‘tattooee’. Seikichi has long been seeking the perfect body upon which he can ‘carve his soul’. He finds Kazuyo and contrives to have her become a model for him. Little does he know that, rather than him succeeding in bringing Kazuyo to him, she had planned to be tattooed by him all along. Seikichi is fetishistically enraptured with Kazuyo and becomes more than a mere muse. She, in return, becomes indifferent and disdainful to him, but they become financially entwined with one another to the point that one cannot survive without the other.

Tattooer is an interesting story about power, inspiration, desire, and, ultimately, control: the control one has over another and the control one has over oneself. It’s a profound narrative but one that doesn’t really come across effectively in the production. The script jumps around and tries to cram a lot of emotional turmoil into a short running time. As a result, it becomes mildly confusing, especially with the multiple Kazuyos and timelines. The introduction of a ‘customer’ (Nozomi de Lencquesaing) helps anchor the narrative a bit more firmly, but it doesn’t help with a number of underlying questions as to why both Seikichi and Kazuyo have ended up where they are.

Produced by Umeda Arts Theatre as part of a season of UK-Japan collaboration,Tattooer is a flawed but very stimulating piece of theatre. It will bemuse, it will entertain, it will leave you pondering, and it will probably have you looking for the original short story a few days later.

Runs until 26 October 2024