Actor Shun Oguri will make a surprise appearance in the ninth episode of the drama series "If This World Were a Stage, Where Would the Dressing Room Be?" (Fuji TV, Wednesdays at 10pm), which will air on November 26th. He will play the late playwright Yukio Ninagawa, also known as "Ninagawa of the World," and said, "I imagined Yukio Ninagawa when he was younger than the Ninagawa I met, and I tried to act as if I was chasing the image of Ninagawa that I have within me."
Written by Koki Mitani and set in Hachibunzaka in Shibuya, Tokyo, the story follows the protagonist, Kube Mitsunari, a theater director played by Masaki Suda, as he works hard with the people of Hachibunzaka to create his ideal Shakespeare play. Kube's version of "The Winter's Tale" is currently being performed, but not only are attendance numbers stagnating, but problems are occurring one after another, and the theater is on the brink of closure. In episode 9, troupe member Tony (Hayato Ichihara) is taken into custody by the police, putting Kube in a difficult position...
Meanwhile, a man was staring intently at Kube's version of "The Winter's Tale." After the performance, the man approached the shrine maiden Juri (Hamabe Minami) and said, "I have something I'd like to ask you." Soon after, Juri told Kube, "Someone who wants to meet you is waiting at Tempest (a jazz cafe)." When he entered the cafe, he found the legendary director Yukio Ninagawa (Oguri) waiting there! "I saw today's performance," Ninagawa said with a smile. Kube was so moved by the sight of his beloved "Mr. Ninagawa" that he couldn't stop trembling...
Oguri will star in the NHK Taiga drama "The 13 Lords of the Shogun" (NHK, 2022), for which Mitani wrote the script, and has become an indispensable presence in Ninagawa's works since being cast in "Hamlet" (2003), directed by Ninagawa, at the age of 20. Ninagawa's name frequently appears in the drama as a legendary director whom Kube greatly respects, and the Ninagawa Company is also credited as a collaborator in the credits.
There will be no broadcast on December 3rd, and episode 10 will air on December 10th at 10:00 PM.
◇Comment from Shun Oguri
I never thought the day would come when I would be given a role like this. While recalling the days I spent with Ninagawa, I imagined a younger Ninagawa Yukio than the Ninagawa I met, and acted as if I was chasing the image of Ninagawa within myself. I am truly grateful from the bottom of my heart for having been given this opportunity.
