Inspired by Junichiro Tanizaki’s short story Shisei, but departing from the story to create more of a dialogue between tattooer and tattooed, Tattooer is the story of self-confessed “dirty old man” tattoo artist Seikichi (Leo Ashizawa), who has become obsessed with Kazuyo (played both by Aki Nakagawa and Mao Aono), and wants to use her to fulfil his desire to “carve his soul into the skin of a beautiful woman”.
Kazuyo has her own reasons for being tattooed, namely to cover a wound sustained in an accident which claimed her sister’s life, and the interplay between the two characters and between the two versions of Kazuyo herself form the bulk of the narrative in the first act.
A final character, named simply the Customer (Nozomi de Lencquesaing), appears in the second act, illustrating the renown that Seikichi’s art has achieved worldwide, as he comes from England seeking a tattoo from the man who has decorated members of the British royal family. This relationship too weaves into the complex narrative of Seikichi and Kazuyo, with the power dynamic now somewhat turned on its head.
One of the most appealing features of Tattooer is the artwork, with a slowly revolving spider on the stage greeting audiences as they arrive. In the interval, this is transformed by ink brush painter Gaku Azuma, who paints both the stage and De Lencquesaing’s back in a masterful introduction to Japanese ink painting.
This is the highlight of the piece, with the play itself often feeling confused and lacking narrative thrust. While some important themes around power dynamics and the way in which we see the world begin to be explored, these explorations remain at the surface level and come too late in the production to have sufficient impact.
Takuya Kaneshima’s script, translated by Linda Hoaglund, is sparse, and it was sometimes difficult to interpret whether a scene was meant to be funny or tragic. While the cast did their best with the material given, the combination of the confusing narrative and the use of traverse staging which meant most facial expressions were missed by half of the audience reduced the emotional impact of their work.
Tattooer is a visually-appealing piece which provides a jumping-off point for audiences to explore the Ukiyo-e art style, but sadly is let down by a confused script and lack of development of its core themes.
Tattoer runs at Charing Cross Theatre until 26 October. For more information and tickets, follow the link here.
⭐️⭐️ (2*)
Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | photography by Mark Senior
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