The theater troupe Engeki Joshibu has announced that performances of its stage play “TIME REPEAT” will be cancelled from Friday, October 16 through Monday, October 19. According to its official X account, the cause appears to be an illness, with reports suggesting several cast members who had been rehearsing together may have fallen sick. On 5ch’s Hello! Project board, posters reacted with shock, noting that “not even during the COVID pandemic was there a cancellation this massive,” while others expressed concern for fans who had already traveled to the venue. Worry also spread about the impact on the remaining schedule, and the thread buzzed with speculation over the scale and cause of the cancellation.
What people said
5AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:35
Wh-wh-what?! C-c-cancelled?!?! (rendered in the original as a garbled, stammering shout of shock)
14AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:35
You'd think a Hello! Project stage show getting cancelled at the last minute due to illness would've happened before, but it never had
Not even during the COVID pandemic
19AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:36
There are definitely people who've already made it to the venue today
Feel so bad for them
20AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:36
This agency that doesn't even have the guts to just call things off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
28AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:36
Re: #20
LMAO
That reaction image really works for everything (lol)
29AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:36
Re: #20
OH. So THAT'S what it meant lolololol
24AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:36
Poor Metto-kun, he traveled all the way out here for nothing (note: "Metto-kun" — nickname for a fan known for wearing a helmet, a recurring figure in these threads)
25AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:36
Has there ever been a cancellation this massive for anything other than COVID?
26AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:36
It's less about who did what and more just a cluster outbreak
Of all the times for this to happen…
30AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:36
They must've been together constantly during rehearsals, so this was bound to spread
33AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:37
And here I just set out after surviving an emergency earthquake alert too
34AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:37
When it happened with Inaba, didn't they just do a free livestream instead? (note: likely referring to Juice=Juice's Inaba Manaka)
35AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:37
Probably several people have come down with it already, and there's a chance more will follow
37AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:37
Seriously, poor Biyo-chan is getting such a raw deal (note: likely a cast member's nickname)
42AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:38
If this drags on and another member gets sick, is the whole thing just going to end without ever being performed? lol
#EngekiJoshibu "TIME REPEAT"
Notice of performance cancellation: Friday, October 16 – Monday, October 19
https://gekijyo.jp/performance/time-repeat/
1:30 PM · Oct 16, 2026
https://x.com/_gekijyo/status/2110951376796942381
tps://pbs.twimg.com/media/HUuaHDdbsAAOWuV.jpg:orig
65AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:40
Guess I've got time now, let's go watch Haito's TikTok (name uncertain — likely a member's nickname)
67AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:41
Re: #65
Doesn't sound like the members are in any shape to move around right now…
69AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:41
It's honestly impressive that ever since Winter Hello! Project, Juice=Juice has gotten through all of this year's work without a single absence
82AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:42
Re: #69
Was that actually true?
(Setting Cinderella aside, of course)
83AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:42
Re: #69
They've got the gods on their side
Even the weather bends for them
79AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:42
As a Morning Musume. fan, I'm just watching all this from the sidelines right now
85AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:42
Re: #79
If you've got nothing going on today, go check out Nonaka's bar event
102AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:44
Performance schedule
Friday, October 16, 2026 – Sunday, October 25, 2026
170AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:53
Re: #102
It's already half over
110AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:45
The play has already begun
This is all just part of the story too
124AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:47
Re: #110
"In reality, turning back time won't magically fix things" — hey, that's an ending spoiler!
114AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:46
Even after the 20th they'll still be recovering and won't be able to perform at full strength.
Can't they just push the whole schedule back instead?
120AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:47
Re: #114
If the whole cast were in-house that'd be one thing, but Shu-san's in it too, so… (note: likely an outside/guest cast member)
137AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:48
Rough that it only takes one person being out to cancel the whole show
They really need understudies ready to go
146AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:50
Re: #137
Sounds like it's more than one person though
153AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:51
As long as Mano Yuna is doing okay, that's all that matters (note: likely a cast/idol member's name)
162AnonymousOct 16, 2026 13:52
Re: #153
There's also a chance she picked it up at school
Background and Key Points
Cancellations of Hello! Project stage performances are rare, and as noted in the thread, even at the height of the COVID pandemic there was never a cancellation on this scale. This time, an illness appears to have broken out among cast members who had been rehearsing together, raising concerns that it could spread easily given their close communal environment. The thread is split between those who think “multiple people may be infected” and those who think “this was cancelled over just one person being sick,” and the actual scale isn’t made clear by the official announcement. Some posters also recalled past cases where an absent performer’s role was covered by a livestream instead, though whether that applies here is unknown. At this point there is no definitive information on the cause or scale, so this remains firmly in the realm of speculation.
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