This interview with Tani Masazumi, director of Captain Nemo, and star Ayakaze Sakina, was published in the August 2017 issue of Kageki.

Captain Nemo roundtable talk

Participants: Tani Masazumi (director), Ayakaze Sakina

Tani: Recently, Snow Troupe has been performing many shows based on manga, as well as comedies, so I felt like writing a more profound work. Was your previous lead The Charterhouse of Parma?

Ayakaze: Yes. The Bow Hall show.

Tani: So I also felt it would be good to do something different to that as well, and I thought of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which I’ve always liked.

Ayakaze: When I first heart I would have a lead show in the Nippon Seinenkan Hall and Theatre Drama City, I was really honored. And on top of that, a show written by Director Tani, who has done so much for me ever since I was still in the Takarazuka Music School…I still remember how furious you were with me during the rehearsals for my Culture Festival (laughs).

Tani: Hahaha (laughs)

Ayakaze: ‘Your acting is only getting in the way!’ you said (laughs). But through that I was able to learn how to carry myself onstage. I’m very happy to have Director Tani overseeing this show as well.

Tani: Well, you wouldn’t be able to say you were upset, would you (laughs)

Ayakaze: I’m happy! I’m really happy! (laughs) I’m ashamed to admit that when it comes to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, I only know the Disneyland attraction (laughs). When I was given this show, I started out by watching the film, which is an exciting adventure story, but then I heard the show would also incorporate elements of a love story and other things. As I am Ken-11 now, I am quite enthusiastic for this show and hope to play a dignified otokoyaku role.

Tani: While in the novel and film Captain Nemo is written to be of Indian descent, it seems that the author, Jules Verne, originally wished to make him a Polish nobleman fighting against the Russians. Since at the time he had many Russian readers of his serials, his editor refused to allow this, so it is said he changed the character to an Indian. “A Polish nobleman resisting the Russian oppressors” is a scenario that suits Takarazuka well, so I decided to write an original story featuring ‘Captain Nemo’ and ‘the Nautilus’.

Ayakaze: So that’s it. In the film, they spent basically the whole story in the submarine…I was thinking ‘what kind of show will this turn out to be?’

Tani: You were asking me things like ‘so is there going to be a giant squid too?’ (laughs)

Ayakaze: One of the junior actresses was wondering ‘am I going to play a seal?’ too (laughs).

Tani: It’s very difficult to portray an underwater setting on stage, but I thought we might use projections to show the deep sea outside the windows of the submarine.

Ayakaze: Personally I really like fantasy and science fiction, so I’m hoping to share that excitement with the audience.

Tani: This story is set in the latter half of the 19th century, during the age of empires. Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, et cetera, were all ruled by various empires – Nemo rules an island inhabited by various victims of those wars who he has saved, an island that is also the home port of the Nautilus…that is the situation I imagined. I want to portray the varied aesthetics of Captain Nemo as he fights against a massive empire together with his comrades.

Ayakaze: I was also raised on an island, in Shikoku (laughs). There are so many scattered islands, and the people who live there are really warm, I want to say…

Tani: Warm, yes, but also, they have to cooperate in order to survive (laughs).

Ayakaze: That’s right – I really understand that feeling of unity (laughs).

Tani: While Nemo is a nobleman, he’s also a brilliant scientist. He does not stand ahead of everyone and advance fiercely, but wherever Nemo goes, everyone else naturally follows; that is the sort of person he is. He’s very silent, so even when everyone else is very stirred up, he will be off by himself playing the pipe organ and expressing his feelings through music, that sort of thing…

Ayakaze: Pipe organ!?

Tani: Indeed – it is in the original work as well, but why on earth would there be a pipe organ in a submarine? It seems that even on the ship he maintains a noble lifestyle, and it his policy to at least try to keep up appearances. I want to convey the idea that under normal circumstances he would be wearing a sharp tailcoat or something like that.

Ayakaze: Eeeeh? Tails! (laughs)

Tani: Though he’s very calm, he’s a very strong-willed sort of person who won’t lose to anything. His own parents were killed by the imperial forces, and along with losing his homeland he himself was abducted, although he was eventually able to escape. Even though he has this terrible past, he doesn’t let any of it show. The people aboard the Nautilus are all brilliant scientists who were brought from all over the world, whatever Nemo says they will follow without any contradiction – I wanted them to be people he could really rely on.

Ayakaze: Amazing… It seems like a role with really high barriers to success. Last time, in The Charterhouse of Parma, if anything my character kept being aided by the people around him. As it was my first lead show, I really was only able to do it with the help of so many people I received strength from. In this I have an entirely different character, and I want to show what I can do now that I’ve been with the company this long in portraying Nemo’s strength and other character aspects.

Tani: You’re at the point where you can’t just go for it with all your energy, but you have to have the ability to display your atmosphere as an otokoyaku even by just standing without doing anything. I want you to aim to be a solitary figure among all the more energetic junior actresses. All the junior actresses in the cast look as if they’ll perform really vigorously, right? (laughs)

Ayakaze: Yes (laughs). Aasa (Asami) has transferred from Moon Troupe, and everyone has done so much in shinjin kouen performances. I wonder what sort of energy will spring from this group… (laughs) I feel like in contrast to their sparkle, I need to show a sharper, more dazzling atmosphere.

Tani: You need to be able to spread your will to the rest of the group, and have the power to lead them. Isn’t that the root of Captain Nemo’s character?

Ayakaze: Yes! That’s really it.

Tani: I hope you’ll be able to enjoy yourself in all sorts of ways. I also plan to incorporate a finale with this show. I know you are very skilled at dance, but I have the image of you being quite a gentle dancer. Therefore I want to make a different atmosphere here. I want to use music by Chopin, who composed at around the same time 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was being written.

Ayakaze: I’m very happy to hear there will be a finale. Of course I like drama, but after all I love it best when there’s a finale at the very end.

Tani: At the poster photoshoot, I thought ‘she couldn’t possibly dance in all those clothes’ (laughs). So I decided that costume would be used in the play, and put on a separate section for you to show off your dancing.

Ayakaze: Thank you so much! Talking to you like this today, I’ve had a lot of thoughts about how I want to do things going into rehearsals. I’m really happy about the timing of being given this lead role, as it comes at the start of a new Snow Troupe under Nozomi-san. This is an opportunity to find a new ‘otokoyaku ideal’ for myself. I’m sure that audience members who have read this interview will be very excited to see the show.

Tani: As you said, as Snow Troupe will be newly reformed with the next Grand Theatre show, everyone in the two separate productions will be working towards advancement, so in this time of transformation it makes one want to scheme a bit. I am hoping this show will provide an opportunity for you to discover new appeal.

Ayakaze: Thank you very much!

Tani: So now it is a matter of how fun and interesting the story is. No matter how good the lead is it’d be a poty if the story wasn’t attention-grabbing. (laughs)

Ayakaze: (laughs)

Tani: With the support of the script it’ll turn out quite interesting (laughs).

Ayakaze: I’m looking forward to it! I want to borrow the strength of Yuu-chan (Natori Rei), Mitsuru-san (Hanagata Hikaru), and everyone in the troupe as I do my best to put on a good show.