Shiki Theatre Company (劇団四季) is one of Japan's best-known and largest theatre companies. Shiki Theatre Company employs around 1,400 actors and staff, and stages more than 3,000 performances to around 3 million audience members a year. It operates seven theaters for their exclusive use. Every year, five or six of the company's productions go on tour. It is one of the largest theatrical companies in the world.

History

The Shiki Theatre Company was established on July 14, 1953 by 10 university students including Keita Asari (浅利慶太). Their aim was “bringing about a revolution in the theater world.” The organization was established as a stock holding company in 1967.

Plays and musicals

Shiki stages three major types of drama. Originally, Shiki Theatre Company staged Shingeki plays. However, in the late 1970s, they branched out into other forms of theatre and found success by staging western and Japanese musicals. All of the company's productions are in Japanese. Shiki is also known for producing original language musicals. One such example is the Showa trilogy, a set of three musicals about World War II and the aftermath. The series consists of Ri Kōran, a musical about the famous Manchurian-Japanese singer; Foreign Hill (異国の丘) which tells the story of Japanese prisoners of war at an internment camp in Siberia; and Southern Cross (南十字星) about the trials of innocent B and C-class war criminals in Indonesia.

Casting

Shiki follows a strict meritocratic system in their casting process. The company welcomes all talented performers and does not cast well-known stars from television or movies simply based on their fame. They prioritize the performers' skills and whether they are able to move audiences.

Schools and programs

In addition to performances, Shiki also provides theater schools and various workshops to train new actors. A number of renowned actors received training at Shiki.

Charitable project

In 2008, Shiki launched the charitable project Kokoro no Gekijo (Theater of Hearts), which invites children in areas with few opportunities to watch theater to attend at no cost. The company also travels to distant islands such as Rishiri Island in Hokkaido to perform. The shows are offered to elementary school students, and the performances teach children concepts such as the “importance of life,” “consideration for other people,” and the “joy in having faith in each other.” The project has grown to 444 performances in 180 cities across the nation. In 2019 alone, around 560,000 children attended the performances. These activities were interrupted by the pandemic, but resumed in April 2023.

International network

As new plays are produced on Broadway and West End each year and performed worldwide, Shiki has been the first one to introduce them to audiences in Japan. A number of non-Japanese producers have asked Shiki to produce their plays in Japan. Shiki has been in a partnership with Disney for over 20 years, since the company's opening of Beauty and the Beast in 1995. Shiki also worked with Andrew Lloyd-Webber, the composer of musicals including Cats and The Phantom of the Opera. Shiki has also worked with production companies on the production of Mamma Mia! and Wicked.

Events

In December 2023, Shiki held a "Lion King" exhibition to celebrate the musical's 25th anniversary in Japan. Shiki's Lion King musical first opened in 1998 in Tokyo.

Theatres

The Shiki Theatre Company owns and operates several theatres across Japan.

Tokyo

Nagoya

Osaka

Former Owned Theatres

Productions

Past and present productions by the Shiki Theatre Company include the following:

Original shows and adaptations

Showa trilogy

Children's theatre

Western shows

Family entertainment