“NOVA,” our upcoming performance project, is an international collaboration that we started working on over three years ago with Canadian company Ex Machina.
Between April 2018 and November 2019, Kodo, Ex Machina, and director Robert Lepage met for four creation periods on Sado Island in Japan and in Quebec City, Canada. Preparations were well underway for a final creation period, due to start in late April 2020, when Lepage and Ex Machina would join us in Japan to complete the production in time for its world premiere in mid-May.
However, due to the effects of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), our Canadian collaborators are now subject to travel restrictions and have been asked to remain at home, which has caused delays in their preparations for this production. Here in Japan, there are also signs that COVID-19 is spreading, and preventing the further spread of this virus is our top priority.
The aforementioned circumstances have led us to the joint decision to cancel all 24 NOVA performances, including the preview performances, which were scheduled to take place in nine locations around Japan this year.
We offer our sincere apologies to everyone who was looking forward to seeing this performance. We are very sorry to disappoint you all and we kindly ask for your understanding at this difficult time.
All ticket holders will receive a refund. For details, please check the venue-specific information listed below.