The second production in Charing Cross Theatre’s season from the Japanese company Umeda Arts Theatre was ‘Tattooer’ adapted by Takuya Keneshima from Junichiro Tanizaki’s short story.

Seikichi, a young tattoo artist and former Ukiyo-e practitioner whose longtime wish is to ‘carve his soul into the skin of a beautiful woman’, is unable to find a willing partner until he finally meets his ideal canvas. During the interval master Japanese ink-brush painter Gaku Azuma takes to the stage to create stunning live artwork, painting one of the cast members and the stage itself.

I was privileged to meet Gaku who graciously signed a montage poster and drew a piece of original art on top of my sketch based on the original poster.