Shuntaro Matsubara¡¯s first contact with live theater was in 2014, when he saw a production of German dramatist Bertolt Brecht¡¯s 1930 play ¡°Fatzer¡± (aka ¡°Downfall of the Egotist Johann Fatzer¡°) at the Kyoto studio of renowned director Motoi Miura and his avant-garde Chiten company.
Only 26 years old at the time, and a little-known author of several novels, Matsubara was impressed enough to join a drama circle run by Miura and, before long, the pair began to develop a creative partnership together.
The first fruit of Matsubara¡¯s new inspiration arrived shortly after. In 2015, his debut work as a playwright ¡ª a piece titled ¡°Michiyuki¡± (¡°Travel Scene¡°) that alluded to the March 2011 disasters in northeastern Japan ¡ª unexpectedly won the coveted annual Aichi Arts Foundation Drama Award for new scripts that has been a springboard for many young playwrights¡¯ careers.
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