Actors Akira Emoto, Takashi Sasano, and Bisaku Sato appeared on Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's long-running talk show "Tetsuko's Room" (TV Asahi), which aired on October 3rd. The three actors, all in their 70s, spoke about their experiences with illness and how long they plan to continue acting.
Sato revealed, "I've been falling a lot lately when I get drunk. I fall over even when there's no step at all. I had to get two stitches. I'm covered in blood."
Sasano suffered from heatstroke in July. After a daytime performance, she felt unwell and went to the doctor, who told her she had heatstroke and gave her an IV drip. "I felt a bit unwell for a few days. It's important to be careful about heatstroke," she said. "Even though I was drinking water, I still got heatstroke."
In addition to benign prostatic hyperplasia, Emoto underwent surgery for spinal stenosis in his 50s. When he performed on stage, bending his body due to the pain, he was praised for "Emo-chan, you're doing a great job on the role." He laughs shyly and says, "It's not about the role."
The conversation turned to the three of them and Sato asked the other two, "How long will you continue acting?" Emoto replied, "As long as I can keep moving. As long as work comes. There is a rehearsal space and studio below my house, where I hold recitation sessions every morning." He said that people from the neighborhood come to the recitation sessions, which are free and run for 30 minutes from 9am. "I will continue as long as I can," he said.
Sasano said, "I somehow think it's time to quit when I can no longer remember my lines," and "If I can no longer remember them, I might go and say, 'Emoto-san, let me read them at that (reading) event.'" Sato said, "I want to keep doing it while I'm still healthy. I'm also worried about whether I have the sensibility to see other plays and find them interesting," to which Emoto added, "If you find something interesting, you'll probably want to continue."
