NODA MAP’s sell-out production of Love in Action at Sadler’s Wells in October last year is now available to stream online globally until 12th May. Taking place in Nagasaki during the final months of the Second World War which culminated with the devastating 1945 atomic bombing of the city, acclaimed Japanese writer, director and Nagasaki native Hideki Noda transports the key events from the original novel and re-imagines them at a pivotal time in modern global history, presenting a Japanese view of the effects of the disaster in his most personal work yet. The play follows the Karamatsu clan of firework makers and the family’s three brothers; a fireworks marker, a physicist and a priest who are torn apart when their father is murdered, seemingly by the oldest son Tomitaro after the revelation he was involved in a love triangle with his father over the same woman. But as more evidence comes to light in the courtroom, the truth starts to emerge and another triangle materialises. Combining Noda’s trademark spectacular visuals with fast paced direction, this powerful drama asks questions of justice, faith and love about those who dropped the bomb and those who endured it

The show played in London at Sadler’s Wells following a critically acclaimed sold out 75-date tour of Japan and features a cast of twenty-five, including some of the most prominent stars of Japanese entertainment performing together on stage for the first time. Actor and member of J-pop group Arashi, Jun Matsumoto plays the oldest son of the family and he is joined by Eita Nagayama, most recently seen globally in last year’s critically acclaimed Japanese psychological film Monster, as the middle brother and Masami Nagasawa, best known internationally for her role in 2019’s action movie Kingdom, who plays two roles including the youngest son. Also in the cast are Naoto Takenaka as the patriarch of the family and Noda Map regulars Nozomi Muraoka, Nobue Iketani and Kazushige Komatsu. The director and writer of the show Hideki Noda also makes one of his trademark cameos.

Hideki Noda OBE is a multi-award-winning Japanese playwright, theatre director, and actor. With his company Yume no Yuminsha he won Japan’s most prestigious theatre accolade, the Kishida Drama Award, and was the emblem of the country’s vibrant youth-theatre and small-scale Theatre Movements in the 70s and 80s. The company presented work across Japan and at the Edinburgh International Theatre Festival and New York International Art Festival, before disbanding in 1992, and the following year, he founded NODA MAP after studying in the UK. Hideki Noda has worked extensively in the UK: his Red Demon played the Young Vic in 2003, and The Diver was performed at Soho Theatre in 2008. The first show he wrote in English was The Bee, which was born from a workshop with London actors in 2006. It premiered at the Soho Theatre and received a 5 star review in Time Out, who called it a “highly unusual theatrical gem”. The Bee subsequently played Tokyo in English and Japanese and has played New York. He frequently works with actress Kathryn Hunter. He has collaborated with international playwrights and thespians, and his works have been performed in 28 cities across 13 countries, including Japan. In 2022, he brought A Night At The Kabuki to London and Taipei to great acclaim. In January 2023, he became the first Japanese to receive the ISPA 2023 Distinguished Artist Award in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the international performing arts community. In 2008 he was appointed artistic director of Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre. He was awarded an OBE in October 2009.

NODA MAP was founded in 1994 by Hideki Noda after a year in London studying theatre on a Monbusho (Culture Ministry) scholarship. NODA MAP are known for producing both large and small scale theatre works including Kill, Pandra’s Bell, Red Demon (UK/Japan/Thailand/Korea), The Bee (UK/Japan/US/Hong Kong), The Diver (UK/Japan), The Character, Egg (Japan/France), One Green Bottle (Japan/Korea/UK/Romania/Taiwan), Fakespear, A Night At The Kabuki (Japan/UK/Taiwan), Usagi Nami wo Hashiru and more.