Testuro Shigemetsu’s solo show, Empire of the Son, is even cooler than this photo—and a lot less scary.
Okay, this is kind of the artistic equivalent of insider trading, but you should buy your tickets for Tetsuro Shigematsu’s Empire of the Son right now before my review is posted online—and before other critics have a chance to chime in and word of mouth hits high gear.
In The Vancouver Sun, Erika Thorkelson has already praised the show, others are bound to follow suit, and, even though the Cultch has extended the run by a full week to October 24, tickets are selling fast and there aren’t many left.
Empire of the Son is about Shigematsu’s relationship with his father, Akira. Like most men in most cultures, they’re part of a lineage of self-containment. Movingly, and with great complexity, this script explores compassion and love.
The writing is gorgeous, and, thanks to Richard Wolfe’s direction, Pam Johnson’s set, Gerald King’s lighting, Steve Charles’s sound design, and Carole Macdonald’s props, the production is superb.
If you try to get tickets tomorrow and they’re sold out, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
I didn’t buy them RIGHT NOW, and in the current RIGHT NOW they are completely sold out. What a dummy I am. Next time I’ll take your upper case seriously.