In collaboration with Studio Ghibli, the Whole Hog Theatre will stage an adaptation of Princess Mononoke, Hayao Miyasaki’s most recognized film and most successful film to date. Having made close to 200 million dollars worldwide, its success set the stage for Studio Ghibli’s partnership with the Walt Disney Company.
Whole Hog Theatre Company describes the play as follows:
Young warrior Ashitaka is a marked man. Cursed by a demon god whilst defending his village, he must leave his home forever to seek a cure.
In the forbidding forests to the west, he is forced to reconcile the warring human forces and the animal deities of times past. In the midst of this bitter and bloody conflict, he meets the wolf god Moro and her human child San: Princess Mononoke.
Although the adaptation is expected to be as faithful to the source as possible, it will have some unique features to this play. One feature is the inclusion of original live music. Also, in honor of the original’s pro environmentalist message, many of the principal props, including all of the spirit animals puppets, will be made from recycled materials.
Judging on reputation and previous projects, the Whole Hog Theatre Company is the only one willing to try a project this ambitious. It was founded in 2011 by a group of young theater professionals that could not get a break in their chosen profession. Rather than give up on their dreams and get real jobs, they decided to start their own company. Whole Hog implies that if you are going to do something, do it 100 percent and without hesitation.
The theater company is making a name for itself with its unique approach to adaptation. Rather than hate the concept, they embrace it. And they excel at it. In its short life span, the company managed to adapt to the stage three project others thought were impossible. If the company’s reputation is true, it would be the only one willing to adapt Manos: the Hands of Fate to the stage and succeed at it. After proving their prowess in adapting the impossible, they are ready to take on Princess Mononoke, their most ambitious project.
Performances of Princess Mononoke will be held at the New Diorama Theater on April 2-6, 2013. Tickets and show times are available at New Diorama’s Website.
I encourage our British readership to attend the play next year, or at least buy the tickets. Whether or not we see it in North America depends on how successful this run is. I would love to see it. Please help me out.
Source: Kotaku and Whole Hog Theatre Company.
About Joseph Furguson
This child of the 80s does not look upon it as some gold age where everything is better. He is well aware that the filter of time causes the best stuff to rise to the top. Every era has terrible and awesome things, but most are downright mediocre. He loves to highlight the forgotten good and the deserving bad items of all generations.
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