−320°F ★★★★ Sadler's Wells Theatre | July 2 - 11, 2026


For anyone captivated by Hideki Noda's A Night at the Kabuki at Sadler's Wells in 2022, this is a joyous return. For everyone else, it will probably be unlike anything they have seen before. Noda gleefully takes Western myths and cultural touchstones, then hurls them into a wildly inventive Japanese theatrical landscape that leaves audiences laughing, pondering and frequently bewildered. The result is a banquet of spectacle, comedy and big ideas. Like any all-you-can-eat buffet, it is both irresistible and overwhelming. There is so much happening that following the plot becomes almost impossible. It stretches across the modern, medieval and ancient worlds, with a detour through the heavens for good measure. The action begins with God complaining to the angels that humanity has built the Tower of Babel in an attempt to reach him. From there, the play hurtles through the Faust legend and the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, while weaving in a corporate power struggle that appears to echo the intrigues of an ancient court ruled by priestess-queens. Along the way, there are fossil digs, pointed attacks on unchecked corporate power, sharp jabs at genetic research, artificial intelligence and designer babies. Then, for reasons known only to Noda, there are bananas. Lots of bananas. The programme promises "A Faustian descent through myth, memory and other bad ideas". It delivers exactly that, and considerably more. Eventually, resistance feels futile. Rather than trying to untangle every thread, the only sensible response may be to surrender to the delirious inventiveness of it all. Perhaps that is Noda's point. Life rarely makes complete sense either. Like this production, perhaps it is best experienced not by searching for coherence or meaning, but by surrendering to its exhilarating beauty and glorious absurdity.

Rated: ★★★★

Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Takashi Okamoto

When, Where, Getting there:
Map & Location: 62 Rosebery Ave, London EC1R 4TN, UK

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