Japanese writer-director Hideki Noda's −320°F at Sadler's Wells in London is a wacky futuristic fantasy that aims high, opening with God observing the Tower of Babel as a skyscraper. The irreverent satirical drama covers the age of dinosaurs, Cleopatra's frozen eggs, and biotech, via time travel, diseased angels, and bone conduction. The protagonist Help (Sadawo Abe) connects his present-day bones with fossilized ones through vibration.
Characters and Plot
The Pied Piper of Hamelin (Koji Ohkura), Mephisto (Suzu Hirose), and Faust (Isao Hashizume) appear, with Noda himself performing as a researcher in gene science. The story is partly inspired by the 2016 mass killings at a care home in Sagamihara, Japan, where a former employee wanted disabled people to “disappear.” Help, who is D/deaf, takes a Back to the Future-style trip to the past to connect with bones forming mankind’s inheritance and advance medical discovery.
Highlights and Design
The plot swings between dreams, fantasies, lab mouse experiments, excavations, and debates, with sharp, adrenalised satire. Highlights include a set piece with dancing bananas and gorgeous choreography by Shigehiro Ide, where the ensemble becomes fossilised dinosaur bones. Yukio Horio's set design uses billowing sheets and video technology for time-switching illusions, complemented by Taiki Ueda's projection design and Kodue Hibino's striking costumes.
Critique
Despite its fun ride, the satire and whimsy become over-baked into earnestness after more than two hours without an interval, clashing with the earlier anarchic comedy. Yet the production leaves audiences feeling they have entered Noda's zany imagination, with a phonebox motif. −320°F runs at Sadler's Wells, London, until 11 July.
