From our other sites
The story
On November 14, the NODA・MAP special production ‘THE BEE’ (based on Tsutsui Yasutaka’s short story “Mushiriai”), starring Takahashi Issei, Nikaido Fumi, Kawachi Yamato, and Kawahira Jiei, announced the cancellation of three performances — that same day and November 15 — citing a cast/crew member “feeling unwell.” On 5channel, however, a string of eyewitness posts claimed that during the previous day’s (the 13th) performance Takahashi had actually cut and bled from his finger on a stage prop, raising questions about the gap between the official “feeling unwell” explanation and the apparent injury. Some are also calling for compensation for audience members who traveled from out of town to see the show.
Stage play ‘THE BEE’ starring Takahashi Issei, Nikaido Fumi, and others announces same-day cancellation: “Due to a staff member feeling unwell”
The NODA・MAP special production ‘THE BEE’ (based on Tsutsui Yasutaka’s “Mushiriai”), starring Takahashi Issei, Nikaido Fumi, Kawachi Yamato, and Kawahira Jiei, announced on the 14th that it would cancel the three performances scheduled for that day and the 15th, citing a staff member feeling unwell.
The cancellation was announced on THE BEE’s official website: “Due to a staff member feeling unwell, we have decided to cancel the three performances of the NODA・MAP special production THE BEE, currently running at Honda Theatre, scheduled for today, November 14 (Sat), and November 15 (Sun).”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / original article here
What people said
Apparently the original novel is pretty deranged.
Tsutsui probably wrote it as a cautionary tale, but yeah, if you really poured your soul into performing it on stage, it does seem like it could mess with your head.
Oh, THAT's what happened
Some people are saying they hope it heals up in a few days
If that's really what happened, they could've made the call sooner
Feel bad for the people who traveled in from out of town to Tokyo
Saw it on X
You don't usually call an injury "feeling unwell," do you?
Would be funny if this was all just a setup for the VIVANT movie
They should cover travel and hotel costs too, like Uma Musume does (the horse-racing franchise's stage shows reimburse fans for cancellations)
Can't be helped
Otherwise there's a temptation to just cover it up or shove an understudy in and push through somehow
I get it if it's the flu with a 104°F fever, but they're cancelling way too easily even at a "push through it" level
If there's a risk of spreading it to others, fine, but otherwise you can usually manage somehow
Showa-era actors used to show up on stage with a straight face even with a broken bone or a dying parent
Should we call it "body trouble" instead?
I think making a snap decision would've been tough.
Depending on how deep the cut was, it could've nicked the bone, which would have to be treated like an open fracture.
And if he got hurt during the evening show, finding an ER that could take him and running tests would've taken a while too.
Re: #39
If it really was like an open fracture, I guess you could technically call that "feeling unwell"?
One wrong step and it's sepsis… speaking from experience.
Well, if it happened to me, I'd probably say it's a good thing
Some productions do have understudies ready for every role except the irreplaceable lead
They prepare so that any role can be covered at any moment
If that's really what happened, they should just announce it honestly
There'll probably be an official announcement depending on how things look tomorrow.
If filming for "Political Pan" isn't wrapped yet, this could affect that too.
Sure, you shouldn't force yourself to perform while unwell, but is there still that mindset of "let's do whatever it takes — understudy or otherwise — to avoid cancelling"?
Before COVID you hardly ever saw show cancellations
Maybe it just wasn't making the news every time back then
If anything, nowadays NOT being able to do stage work kind of implies you're a bad actor
>Tsutsui Yasutaka's short story "Mushiriai" ("Tearing Each Other Apart") is an absurdist tale full of madness and black humor, following an ordinary salaryman dragged into an escalating cycle of extreme revenge.
>Synopsis/Overview
>• The setup: An escaped convict named Kogoro breaks into the home of Ido, an ordinary salaryman rushing home, and takes his wife and child hostage.
>• The turning point: Ido, originally just trying to save his wife and child, flips the situation — he turns around and takes the escaped convict's (Kogoro's) wife and child hostage instead.
>• Escalating retaliation: The two sides keep escalating their demands — "cut off the other's child's finger," "next cut off the wife's finger" — repeating increasingly brutal acts of revenge.
>• The ending: The spiraling, mad conflict never stops; the media and police end up just watching and reporting from the sidelines, and it ultimately spirals into a catastrophic exchange, including declarations of cutting off each other's pinky fingers.
What is this story, it's terrifying
Background and key points of this discussion
Same-day cancellations citing “feeling unwell” have become a familiar announcement format for stage productions in recent years, but specifics — what the illness actually is, what led to it — are rarely disclosed, leaving audiences to piece together the real story from eyewitness accounts on social media. In this case too, multiple online accounts claimed Takahashi Issei was injured and bleeding from a stage prop during the performance on the 13th, and the thread filled with questions about the discrepancy between that and the official “feeling unwell” explanation. Opinions split between those criticizing the production for not having made the call sooner if it really was an injury, and those defending how hard an on-the-spot decision like that can be. Complaints about the lack of compensation for travel and hotel costs were also common. It’s worth noting that the injury account comes only from audience eyewitness reports — there’s been no official confirmation linking an injury to the cancellation.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Entertainment] Stage play starring Takahashi Issei, Nikaido Fumi, and others announces same-day cancellation: “Due to a staff member feeling unwell”“.
Leave a Reply