"The Yalta Conference"
On "The Yalta Conference"
"The Yalta Conference" caricatures the Yalta Conference that shaped the world in the latter half of the 20th century.
There are only three characters in the piece: Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill. Its running time is 30 minutes.The characters discuss how to divide up Europe in the first 15 minutes and how to handle Japan in the second half.
"The Yalta Conference" has been highly acclaimed for its cutting black humor and its portrayal of the 20th century history through a birds-eye view beyond usual narrow-minded ideologies.
Many politicians, political scientists and journalists, who have seen the play in Japan, have left the theater feeling that the three leaders may actually have discussed those matters in the manner portrayed.
About the Piece
"The Yalta Conference" was originally written for Rakugo, a traditional Japanese comic storytelling art. For the theatrical version, one third of the original script has been altered, with new lines added.
Premiered in 2003, this 30-minute, 3-person comedy has since been performed at various venues throughout Japan. In 2006 Seinendan toured seven North American cities including New York with this piece along with "Loyal Ronin: the Working Girls Version".
In February 2009, a group of Japanese Diet members from multiple parties organized a Seinendan performance of this play at Kensei Kinenkaikan (Parliamentary Museum) followed by a discussion session. This event attracted much public attention.
In September 2009, "The Yalta Conference" had its European premiere in Geneva.
Seinendan plans to continue presenting this piece both in Japan and overseas.
Synopsis
Though all the conversations are fictional, most of what this black comedy tells of the conference in Yalta of Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt discussing the post-WWII treatment is historically accurate.
The first half (15 minutes) of the play is the day one of the conference, in which they mainly discuss the division of Europe and the issue of Israel and the Arabs. The second half, day two, is about what to do with Japan after the war.
The funny and scary conversations continue, revealing the egoism of the powerful nations.
The Yalta Conference
“ヤルタ会談” - Yalta Kaidan -
- YEAR CREATED:
- 2002
- LENGTH:
- 30min.
- NUMBER OF CHARACTER:
- 3 (Male : 1 Female : 2)
- TRANSLATED SCRIPTS:
- French, English
Scripts,Video,DVD,Educational CD-ROM
Scripts
- The English translation by Hiroko Matsuda and Cody Poulton is available.
- The French translation by Yutaka Makino is available.
DVD
- Seinendan's performance, in Japanese, is on sale from Kinokuniya (4523215020671). 2006 ¥5,040
Performance History
Productions by Seinendan
- March 2006, Oklahoma City, Houston, Victoria (Canada), Lincoln (Illinois), Portland (Oregon), Long Island and New York, U.S.A / Canada
- September 2009, Geneva «La Batie Festival de Genève», Switzerland
