Conceived, written and directed by Hideki Noda OBE,–320°F is a play seeking to raise public awareness of eugenics, the commercialisation of medical science and the equal rights of disabled people, especially those with communication difficulties, to live without having to justify their own existence. Therefore at heart, it’s a play that appears to affirm and celebrate the beauty of life itself.
This agenda is mainly conveyed through sign language and a fantasised living creature: Angel.–320°F has an extremely intricate and sophisticated storyline: Professor Kyuri (Eri Fukatsu) searches for the mythical “bones of angels”, believing they contain transmittable genetic memories and the wisdom of ancient medicine. Her assistant Tasukete (Sadawo Abe), a man born with “Angel Disease,” becomes the key, enabling them to find Angels living in the past, including the most famous one, the fallen Mephistopheles (Suzu Hirose). However, as the big pharmaceutical corporation invests in rejuvenation and ultimately “enhanced humans”, their aspirations repeatedly slide into genetic selection and eugenic violence.
Blending myth, science fiction, the Faust story and time-travelling, this play feels much like an underdeveloped TV or manga series encapsulated in a two-and-a-half-hour (without an interval) theatrical production, rather than a theatrical production. Most characters have their own tropes: Tasukete is the escapist hero who finally earns his growth arc; Kyuri is the mad idealist scientist seeking truth, eventually fulfilled through love and faith; Doctor Bone is the mentor figure who has his own fallacies and Pied Pier is the final hidden boss. While its plot design and character-building show clear potential, the production leaves little room for genuine discussion or provocation.
The directorial choices are equally questionable. Using sign language as choreography is ethically dubious, but it also fails dramaturgically to incorporate the production’s claim of moving sign language from the side to the centre. The final mise-en-scène of childbirth clearly aims for emotional uplift, but instead becomes merely sentimental, with a not-so-well-arranged soundscape that stops abruptly.
A rare gem within this overcrowded staging, however, is Eri Fukatsu, who doubles as Professor Kyuri and Queen Himiko, the ancient shaman-queen. In an overtly fast-paced production driven by hypercharged energy that often feels exaggerated and cartoonish, Fukatsu’s portrayal of Professor Kyuri remains subtle and nuanced, portraying this mad scientist with some hidden gentleness, in contrast to her performance as Queen Himiko which clearly carries more exaggerated humour.
Although Noda mentions the Buddhist concept of mujō (無常, impermanence) in his director’s note, the storyline, spanning ancient, medieval and modern times, falls too heavily into fatalism, where historical repetition is unavoidable, until love and faith finally conquer all. I would not generally say no to the familiar “love and courage” narrative of Japanese popular culture. Nevertheless, for a stage production programmed at Sadler’s Wells that deliberately aims to provoke serious ethical debates, I expect more than a show that simply reiterates the importance of love, of living and being alive.
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