A reading drama-style stage adaptation of Gen Urobuchi’s horror visual novel Saya no Uta (The Song of Saya) has been announced. With performances set over the course of ten days starting June 4 at the Sogetsu Hall in Tokyo, the stage play casts six male actors as protagonist Fuminori Sakisaka and two female actors as Saya (each performing on different dates and times).
Creator Gen Urobuchi had a few words to say about the stage reading:
“The folly of youth. For me, that single phrase sums up this work. Not in a self-deprecating way, but it symbolizes a lingering remnant of a brilliance I lost long ago.
That condensed story is what we call ‘Saya no Uta’. Back when I was writing it, I recall a desire to leave a mark on the world – a cruel urge to leave an indelible stain on the reader’s memory. It’s a work from a time when I was angry, jealous, and hungry. It’s a story I could never write again, precisely because I’ve matured with age. In that sense, I love this work dearly. Back then, I felt a deep satisfaction at having written a single work that truly served as a mirror that reflected the darkness within my heart. To have it recreated on stage now, in this way, is a joy beyond my wildest hopes.”
Japanese playwright, scriptwriter, stage director, and actor Kenichi Suemitsu (TRUMP, Touken Ranbu the Stage), who is in charge of adapting and directing the stage adaptation, adds:
“(Saya no Uta presents) An ugly, ominous, and utterly beautiful world. It is where love and madness are quietly yet undeniably stirring in the deepest recesses of the heart.
Shuddering with terror and revulsion, yet simultaneously feeling another indescribable emotion welling up from the depths of my chest—I still cannot forget the shock I felt when I first encountered this story. This tale, which shakes the very foundations of what it means to be human and effortlessly tramples over ethics and common sense, possesses the power to relentlessly erode the values of anyone who encounters it.
How will this twisted love and world manifest on the stage, that realm of raw, living expression? Together with the cast and crew, I am determined to plunge into the abyss created by Gen Urobuchi.”
Saya no Uta follows Fuminori Sakisaka, a medical student who becomes the sole survivor of a car crash. Fuminori loses his parents in the accident and sustains a head injury that skews his perception of the world. His surroundings appear covered in gore, humans look like grunting and screeching mounds of flesh, food tastes horrible, and his sense of touch is numbed. Pushed near the point of suicide, he encounters Saya, who appears to him as a beautiful young girl. As the two become closer, Fuminori starts to learn that Saya isn’t what she appears to be.
While the source material features scenes with blood, gore, nudity, and sexual content, the stage adaptation a bit tamer. There are no sexual scenes or nudity, though it has some “shocking and grotesque” depictions.
Saya no Uta’s stage plays will run from June 4 to June 14 at the Sogetsu Hall in Tokyo. An official webpage that includes the latest news, ticket availability, and event details has also launched.
