Once upon time at midnight ある真夜中に
Once Upon a Midnight is a Japanese/Australian rock musical. The script is bilingual, featuring seven Japanese performers and seven Australian performers. It follows the adventures of Kelsey Clarke and the warrior doll Nozomi as they journey to the Underground to liberate the monster world from the mysterious Angelica.
The show was first performed at the Kijimuna Festival in Okinawa, Japan, and later appeared as a headline act at the OzAsia Festival in Adelaide, South Australia. It was a collaboration between the Kijimuna Festival, Flinders University Drama Centre and Adelaide Festival Centre.
Synopsis
Kelsey Clarke is very afraid. She is afraid of germs, she is afraid of traffic…even the toaster makes her feel very afraid.
Deep in the Underground, the monsters are afraid too. Angelica, the Blue Fairy, has flown into their world. No longer will the monsters be allowed to terrify unsuspecting children, no longer can they drink blood and dance the night away.
Powerless to confront Angelica, the Tengu — Lord of the Underground — has no choice but to find the world’s most frightened child and teach her to confront her fear. For timid Kelsey, this means putting on her best cardigan and plunging headlong into the monster kingdom — from murky swamps to haunted Ghost Roads!
With an enchanted doll and a vegetarian vampire to guide her, Kelsey touches her darker side. But is becoming her own nightmare any better than cowering alone under blankets? Can Kelsey summon the courage to find her true self, face her demons and stand against the magical Angelica? Or will the sun rise forever on a future where only the fearful survive?
Production credits
Publicity photo: Yoshiki, Ryan and Tweetles
Director: Catherine Fitzgerald
Choreography: Yumi Umiumare
Assistant Director: Momoko Iwaki
Costume Design: Oka Kazuyo
Dramaturg: Julie Holledge
Set Design: Naomi Steel
Design consultant: Mary Moore
Stills Photographer: Tomoaki Kudaka
Music consultant: Stuart Day
Sword Fight Choreographer: Tuyoshi China
Lighting Designer (Japan): Yoshimi Sakamoto
Lighting Designer (Australia): Fred Schultz
Stage Manager (Australia): Maj Green
Production Manager (Australia): Andrew Bailey
Set Construction (Australia): Glen Finch
Book Translation (to Japanese): Ken Yamamura with Yumi Umiumare Lyrics Translation (to Japanese): Ken Yamamura, Yumi Umiumare, Keiko Yamaguchi, and Mai Kakimoto
Produced by Hisashi Shimoyama, Artistic Director of the Kijimuna Festival, and Professor Julie Holledge, Flinders University Drama Centre.
