Through the magic of theater around the world, people with roots in foreign countries are expressing their backgrounds. 

This uplifting movement, which is progressing in Germany and Britain, is beginning to spread in Japan as well.

In late September, about 10 people, including international students and workers from Asia, Europe and the United States, gathered in a rehearsal room at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district

Bassam Ghazi, 51, a theatre director from Germany and the workshop’s general adviser, told participants that, “the theater is about attracting attention and showing presence. Actors must constantly train to be ‘watched’ on a daily basis.”

In 2024, the theater launched the Tokyo Borderless Theater Project, a program to create a play with immigrants and refugees.

This year’s project, titled "Door to Door," was conducted through 13 workshops held from August to October, with public presentations scheduled in November. In the performance, participants present their identities and values in Japanese or English. 

‘SAFE SPACE TO TALK ABOUT ROOTS’

A woman from China who is participating in "Door to Door" said, “My hometown is Shanghai, but I’ve also been influenced by Japan and other countries.”

Another participant is Tei Ushin, 32, a company employee from Taiwan, who planned the project and served as its director, has lived in Japan since 2016.

“It’s important to have a safe space where we can talk about our roots and feelings toward our hometowns. I want not only to share but also to express myself,” she said enthusiastically.

A 33-year-old woman from Mariupol, Ukraine, who fled her country in 2022 after the Russian invasion, said, “My hometown was destroyed by war, and I can’t go back. The workshop allows me to remember my hometown and reflect on the places I’m attached to and where my roots lie.”

Yu Xiaokai, 27, an international student from China, said, “Sometimes I find it difficult to say I’m Chinese when I’m in Japan or other countries. But in the workshop, I felt I could freely talk about my thoughts and my country.”

At the presentation in November, participants will perform their personal stories using dialogue and physical expressions, focusing on the “doors” that remind them of their roots and hometowns—such as landscapes and sounds they encountered while living in Japan despite language and cultural barriers.

Stage sets representing “walls” and “doors” that express psychological and linguistic barriers will also be installed.

THEATER FOR ALL

In 2021, as part of Tokyo’s cultural policy, the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater and metropolitan art museums began initiatives to make cultural facilities accessible to everyone, from children to the elderly.

Since 2021, the theater has focused on a multicultural coexistence, offering theater tours in simplified Japanese and workshops themed around a multicultural society.

Sumiko Tamuro from the theater’s project planning division, who also serves as a theater director, launched a program in 2008 in Kani, Gifu Prefecture, to make the theater a social gathering place for foreign and Japanese residents.

She created plays with participants at the time.

“Without diversity, new art cannot be born. We want to show that the energy and ideas of people with foreign roots have meaning for society,” she said regarding the current workshop.

In Germany, pioneering efforts to promote multicultural coexistence are under way. One example is the Dusseldorfer Schauspielhaus--a renowned municipal theater of Dusseldorf—which has a “citizen participation department,” where immigrants and refugees can actively participate.

Tamuro learned about Ghazi, who led that department, and invited him to be the general adviser for this project.

Ghazi began working as a theater director in Berlin in 2013 and has served as artistic director of plays performed by a theater group consisting mostly of second- or third-generation immigrants at the Cologne municipal theater.

His plays focus on themes such as life in Germany as an immigrant and family stories.

“The central theme is about people facing discrimination or disadvantages, but the plays also become a place where they can show their courage and strength,” Ghazi said.

IMMIGRANT BACKGROUNDS INSPIRE NEW THEATER

Even today in Germany, it remains rare for people with immigrant backgrounds to become performers and create works themed around immigration, Ghazi said.

However, compared to about 20 years ago when he began creating such plays, he has seen changes in recent years—tickets now sell out and theaters are more cooperative.

Ghazi fled a civil war in Lebanon with his family shortly after birth. His asylum application was not immediately accepted, and until he obtained German citizenship in 1998, he lived in fear of being forcibly returned to Lebanon.

He said his upbringing influences his creative work.

Regarding immigrants expressing themselves through theater, he said, “If someone in the audience has a similar immigrant background, they might gain strength from our play. It can also be an opportunity for people who aren’t interested in the fear of living in a war-torn country or being sent back to their homeland to learn about it.”

Similar initiatives remain rare in Japan.

However, in Ono, Hyogo Prefecture, the Association of Japanese Theater Companies has been holding theater workshops since 2018 in cooperation with the Hyogo prefectural theater group Piccolo, aiming to create opportunities for cultural exchanges between foreigners and Japanese residents.

Meanwhile, in Britain, various theaters are expanding efforts to create plays with not only immigrants and refugees but also homeless people, people with disabilities and sex workers.

"Door to Door" will be staged on Nov. 1 and 2 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater.

Tickets are 1,000 yen ($6.58) and seats are still available for the 7 p.m. performance on Nov. 1 and the 2 p.m. performance on Nov. 2.

Tickets can be purchased on the Peatix website: (https://geigeki-tbtp2025door.peatix.com/)