We are excited to announce our first featured artist this season, Mayumi Yoshida, with her project Red Demon. In Japanese and English, this digital edition of DBLSPK dissects the intricate wordplay and nuanced narrative of playwright Hideki Noda and Mayumi’s contemporary take on the English translation/adaptation by Rogers Pulvers and Matt Wilkinson.

Hideki Noda's Red Demon tells the story of a creature who washes up on the shore of a small beach town. Reddened from long exposure to the elements and seemingly unable to speak a human language, the residents of the town immediately label him a demon that came from the sea to eat them. The Demon's lone advocate is an outcast known only as That Woman, who recognizes her own rejection from her community in the Demon. Together with her simple-minded brother Tombi, and an amorous suitor, Mizukane, their journey of discovery illuminates humanity's behaviour in moments of intercultural conflict, focusing on racist fears of immigration and society's struggle with intolerance. Through satire, wordplay, wit, and a shocking surprise ending, Red Demon asks this central question: how do we identify humanity, in both ourselves and others?

Join us on 27 November, 2020 for an evening of captivating staged reading featuring local and Japanese artists, and chat with the artists about what we gain and lose when we work across languages and cultures.

Online/Digital

On your device, Vancouver, British Columbia, CA