Photo of Manami Hara, Hiro Kanagawa & Maiko Bae Yamamoto by Tim Matheson

A scintillating peek into the world of common stereotypes surrounding Japanese culture. This sometimes-irreverent trilogy of interweaving one-acts takes us from a crowded commuter train to one of Tokyo's infamous love hotels and touches on office politics, work parties and Seattle mariners star fielder (and Japanese icon) Ichiro Suzuki.

The inspiration for Sexual Practices of the Japanese lies in the place where the traditional and modern meet — in the blurry space between people’s perceptions and expectations. Written by Manami Hara, Hiro Kanagawa, James Long and Maiko Bae Yamamoto, and performed by Hara, Yamamoto and Raugi Yu with direction by Long and Yamamoto, Sexual Practices of the Japanese features a superb team of designers, including Veda Hille, Barb Clayden, Jonathan Ryder, Colin Cooper and Lee Hutzulak. The show premiered at the PuSh Festival in 2006 and has since toured to On the Boards in Seattle, Magnetic North Theatre Festival in Ottawa and Factory Theatre in Toronto.

“This fascinating, provocative work from Vancouver's Theatre Replacement combines the freedom of performance art with the structure of good text, and the combination is irresistible.”
-The Toronto Star

“Instead of focusing inward...this play looks outward, toward Japan itself, exploring some widely held notions about the Japanese and their sexual proclivities. And instead of exploding stereotypes, the play underlines them, using comedy and clever theatricality in some brave and entirely unexpected ways.”
-Vancouver Plays

PRODUCTION HISTORY
Push International Performing Arts Festival
January 24 - 26, 2006
Vancouver East Cultural Centre
VANCOUVER

Northwest Artist Series
February 22 - 24, 2007
On The Boards
SEATTLE

Magnetic North Theatre Festival
June 5 - 9, 2007
NAC Studio Theatre
OTTAWA

Performance Spring
May 7 - 18, 2008
Factory Theatre
TORONTO