Theater freed from the "human yardstick," updating our vision of the world
space, and language appear in unknown forms...

Through theater, an activity for people, is it possible to bring forth a world in which human beings, things, and the environment surrounding them all exist in a flat relationship?

The city of Rikuzentakata in Iwate Prefecture incurred immense devastation in the Great East Japan Earthquake. Earthwork construction aimed at raising the level of the ground to prevent damage from tsunami artificially altered the landscape with an amazing rapidity. Toshiki Okada's idea for creating a work that questioned the "human yardstick" sprang from a firsthand look at this sight. Eraser Mountain, the resulting play, was prepared in collaboration with the artist Teppei Kaneuji, who continues to expand the domain of sculpture. In space cluttered with countless items, actors build a new relationship with objects, and audiences come to see the world with a new vision.

Eraser Mountain had its world premiere in Kyoto in October 2019. While affected by the Covid pandemic, performances were subsequently held in New York in 2020, and Tokyo, Vienna, and Paris in 2021.
The underlying idea of questioning the “human yardstick” was conceived at the sight of the landscape in  the city of Rikuzentakata in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake. What will it show in 2024 to Tokyo, which experienced the threats out of human control posed by Covid-19? After a hiatus of three years, chelfitsch will stage performances in Tokyo of this both ambitious and controversial work, which renovated its former methodology.

"Eraser Mountain" Special Website: https://www.keshigomu.online/en/

Statement

Toshiki Okada

The performance is not delivered to the here and now.
Driven by the need to create this sort of theater, chelfitsch set about the task by pooling the esthetic sensibilities of Teppei Kaneuji and other participating members.
Eraser Mountain is theater that goes beyond humanity and radiates its light into the boundless future.

Teppei Kaneuji

People often talk about “an age of anxiety or instability.” To the best of my knowledge, historically speaking, I believe there was never even a moment that such feelings were entirely absent.

We must recognize that what humankind has experienced or witnessed in common over the last few years has had an impact big enough to change our erstwhile perception of time, space, and the relationship between humanity and non-human existences. As might be expected, even today, the world continues to be turning upside-down in the same way.

Just where will this masterpiece too far ahead of its time land? Or will it continue to drift? The future course has a frightening aspect, but is also something to look forward to.  People perhaps think about the existence of time unconnected with themselves. People perhaps build a connection with existences not facing themselves. We are confident that this attempt, which was saddled with contradictions right from the start, could kindle a new fire or lead to a new harmony.

Performance Information

Schedule

June 7th (Fri.) 　18:30
17:30　Box office & lobby open
17:45　Description of works @lobby
18:00　Doors open
18:30-21:00　Performance

June 8th (Sat.) 　13:00  ☆Whispering welcomed during the performance
12:00　Box office & lobby open
12:15　Description of works @lobby
12:30　Doors open
13:00-15:30　Performance

June 8th(Sat.) 18:00
17:00　Box office & lobby open
17:15　Description of works @lobby
17:30　Doors open
18:00-20:30　Performance
*Post-performance talk

June 9th (Sun) 13:00 ★Performance with low viewing-manner barriers
12:00　Box office & lobby open
12:15　Description of works @lobby
12:30　Doors open
13:00-15:30　Performance

The box office & lobby will be open 60 minutes before the start of the performance.
The doors will open 30 minutes before the start of the performance.
The venue has a cafe in the lobby (opening only before the performance)

Duration:2h30min  (no intermission)
Performed in Japanese with English and Japanese surtitles

☆June 8th 13:00　Whispering welcomed during the performance

During plays, people with impaired vision, children, and other individuals may want to watch while getting explanations about what is happening on stage at the time. This performance was prepared to allow such people to exchange comments without reserve, and welcomes whispering (whispered commentary on the doings on stage) during it.

Support in this performance
・Pick-up and drop-off service between the station and theater 
*Reservation required via email
・Touch tour before the performance　(Only for people who have tickets for the performance starting at 13:00 on June 8th) *For people who are blind or visually impaired; reservations required.

★June 9th 13:00 Performances with low viewing-manner hurdles

When viewing performances, one of the basic manners is to sit quietly in your seat. But in some cases, people may regard this as a hurdle to seeing plays etc. They may be worried about their children talking during the show or about having to get up and take a break during the performance because of a disability, for example. To allow such people to see a play without any worries, we have decided to relax the viewing manners in the audience seating a little for this performance.

Venue

Setagaya Public Theater
〒154-0004　Setagaya Public Theater, 4-1-1 Taishido, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo
Setagaya Public Theater is located 3F in the Carrot Tower, directly connected to Sangenjaya Station on the Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line and Setagaya Line.

Access　https://setagaya-pt.jp/en/guide/access/

Facility
- Written communication, EV, accessible toilet, wheelchair space
- Childcare service (for a fee; reservations required) 
Prices 2,200 Yen(per person)
Target Over 6 months old and under 9 years old
Application Setagaya Public Theatre　TEL 03-5432-1526
Reservations will be accepted until noon three days before the desired date of use.
-Theater with an assistance dog :
You can watch the play with an assistance dog.
Seats vary in size, so please contact the theater for details.
Inquiry Setagaya Public Theatre TEL 03-5432-1526

Please find the seat and steps in the theater on the website “Main theater VR experience”.
https://setagaya-pt.jp/en/guide/theater/

Ticket

All seats reserved
Adult：S ¥5,000／A ¥4,500
Age 29 or under (proof required)：S ¥4,000／A ¥3,500
Age 18 or under (proof required)：S ¥2,000／A ¥1,500
Disability discount (proof required）：S ¥3,500／A ¥3,000 *Carers are admitted free of charge (one per person with a disability)
Tickets at the door (regardless of the area)：Adult ¥5,500, age 29 or under ¥4,500, age 18 or under ¥2,500, disability discount ¥4,000

Discount: Setagaya Public Theater Tomo no Kai - ¥200, Setagaya Arts Card -¥100 from advance tickets (advance registration required, only adult tickets for S seats)

・Preschool children may watch the performance (free of charge) while sitting on a parent's lap. If you want a separate seat for your child, you must buy an extra ticket.
・The wheelchair area is in the rear on 1F (A area). *Carers are admitted free of charge (one per person with a disability, auxiliary seat)

Ticket release

General release：April 13th (Sat.) 10:00
Advance order：April 11th (Thurs.) 10:00 Setagaya Public Theater Tomo no Kai, April 12th (Fri.) 10:00 Setagaya Arts Card 

Playguide

・Setagaya Public Theater online.（24 hours, registration required,  without handling of disability discount tickets*）
https://setagaya-pt.jp/en/
・Setagaya Public Theater Ticket Center (telephone, counter: 10:00-19:00, with handling of disability discount tickets*）
TEL 03-5432-1515

*Reservation for Disability discount ticket 
We accept reservations by email for persons who would find it difficult to purchase tickets at the theater ticket center (by telephone or at the counter) or would like to have a seat facilitating access to an aisle on the first floor.
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Email :  chelfitschticket@gmail.com
Text : Name／Date ／Type of ticket ／Amount／Area（1F・2F・3F）／Would you like to reserve aisle seats on the first floor? (Yes・No)
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Please contact us if you need support. Staff are ready to help you as much as they can.
Email : chelfitschticket@gmail.com

Crowdfunding

This is the first time for chelfitsch to launch a crowdfunding project.
Besides raising funds, this crowdfunding project is an attempt to spread knowledge of chelfitsch and Eraser Mountain among more people, and to broaden the scope of theater, an undertaking that has the potential to  transform the reality of here and now into something completely different. We hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to review the activities of chelfitsch so far and participate in our challenging efforts from now on.

Project page : https://motion-gallery.net/projects/eraser-mountain2024