Theatre Reviews: The Habits; Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey
Encounters with a Japanese monkey on the Scottish coast
This week I’m bringing you two theatrical treats from stages 400+ miles apart. I spent the past week exploring the Scottish Highland but obviously within hours of arriving in Dundee found myself in the familiar surroundings of a theatre. Before we head up the coast to Scotland to see (more) Japanese theatre, we need to take a stop-off in a London basement.
The Habits - Hampstead Theatre, Downstairs
By JACK BRADFIELD
Directed by ED MADDEN
1 hour 30 minutes
I arrived slightly too early to the Hampstead theatre on Tuesday evening and a private function meant there was nowhere to sit inside. Luckily outside the theatre a stall was selling gyoza (frozen but reheated with a smile) so I embraced the chilly London evening and contemplated the play I was about to see. I’ve never played Dungeons & Dragons but have lived a suitably nerdy life. I need to get these reviews done today so I can go and play Settlers of Catan. I am D&D adjacent, let’s say.
Down in the Hampstead Theatre’s smaller space sat a pentagonal table and a few chairs. The only stage dressing was a dragon hanging from a blandly tiled ceiling - the audiences imaginations were left to conjour the rest of a boardgame cafe in Bromley. This table acted as the central location for The Habits, a play about a D&D group lead by Dungeonmaster Jess (Ruby Stokes).
Photo by Genevieve Girling
While the audience is imagining they are in a deepest Bromley, the characters are imagining themselves as a collection of wizards and warriors in pursuit of The Nightmare King. The story takes place both within the fantasy of the game and the less fantastical world of real life. Both are artfully conjured up through dialogue as the cast mostly sit around talking. A play like this could feel inert but the actors give it their all and the tight runtime makes for a well-paced evening.
Inevitably the troubles of the real world start to bleed into their fantasy and the battles they are fighting become all too personal. I found the play really affective; it was funny when it wanted to be but pulled no punches when it needed to deliver emotional heft. This is not a show that pokes fun at D&D but shows the value of escapism, community, and a good game.
This is what the Hampstead Theatre should be doing - elevating new writing and putting on strange, smaller plays. Other reviews have been mixed but I really recommend giving The Habits a chance.
Seat: Stalls, D7 - £10
I went in previews so my seat was discounted but the maximum you’ll pay now is £25. The seats are placed on the four sides of the table and are four rows deep at most. I was sat front and centre and kept having to move my feet out of the way of the actors. I consider this immersive theatre.
Show: ★★★★☆
Seat: ★★★★★
The Habits runs until 5th April 2025.
Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey - Dundee Rep Theatre
Conceived, Staged & Directed by Matthew Lenton
Associate Direction Sandy Grierson
Text by Sandy Grierson & Matthew Lenton
Japanese Translation & Dramaturgy Nozomi Abe
1 hour 40 minutes
At the end of a seven hour train journey I landed in Dundee, the “Gateway to the Highlands”. After a short detour to the Dundee V&A (home to Succession’s iconic “L to the OG” scene) my hosts took me to Dundee Contemporary Arts for dinner. Great food, excellent art, superb gift shop, and a startling resemblance to my beloved Institute of Contemporary Arts. Well fed, and our cultural amuse-bouche digested, we headed to the Dundee Rep Theatre.
That evening the Rep was not staging their own show but instead was hosting a co-production between the Scottish Vanishing Point and Japanese Kanagawa Arts Theatre. Together these two theatre groups have combined two short stories by Haruki Murakami into a bi-lingual piece filled with magical realism.
While I have been reminiscing recently about the decidedly English Totoro, and disctinctively Japanese Spirited Away, this is a uniquely Scottish-Japanese curiosity. Each cast member speaks exclusively in their native Japanese or English (with a Scottish accent). Surtitles above the stage translate everything into both languages and often conversations are held in both languages with an English question often receiving a Japanese response.
The two short stories are similarly entwined with each centred on a different interaction with the titular monkey. The monkey has a fetish for human females and satisfies his obsession by stealing the names of the women he is attracted to. The result of this is the women losing a small part of themselves, both the light and the dark, and a frustrating inability to remember their own name. There’s a lot to read into not only the implications of this, and the way the monkey justifies this violation.
Photography by Mihaela Bodlovic
Sandy Grierson as the monkey is the star of the show - brilliantly mimicing the mannerisms of a primate but delivering his dialogue in a Scottish brogue. Completely believable as a hyper-intelligent and perverse creatre - he is a no-nonsense monkey with a gently puppeteered tail.
The other highlight of this show was the lighting and staging. The back of the stage was perpetually obscured in a cloud of smoke - all actors, sets, and props emerging from the mist. The specific mechanics of the production were hidden from view and the dramatic lighting shaped the fog and allowed us to only see what we were meant to. This staging allowed scenes to drift from one to another seamlessly and combined with the bilingual dialogue (and talking monkey) created a dreamlike atmosphere.
This dreamscape was both the play’s strength and weakness. By lulling the audience into a dream there was nothing jarring about the fantastical plot. But a gentle pace and dreamy atmosphere stretched over almost two hours in a warm auditorium had me struggling to maintain focus. The drinks at the DCA might have played a part too…
A magical adaptation complete with all the best and worst of Murakami (excellent storytelling and startling misogyny), this is a wonderful international production that deserves a longer run. Keep your eye on Vanishing Point; if this show returns, it is worth staying awake for.
Seat: Stalls, M48 - £23.50
We were sat to the far right of the auditorium and had clear view of the stage and surtitles. I think you’d struggle to find a bad seat.
Show: ★★★★☆
Seat: ★★★★★
Murakami’s short stories are available to read online:
Perth. Perth is gateway to the Highlands.
Typical Londoner.