27
Nov/20

UNDERGROUND FAIRY

27
Nov/20

Alice Victoria Winslow stars as the title character in Satoko Ichihara’s Underground Fairy

Who: Alice Victoria Winslow, Par Parekh, Satoko Ichihara, Tara Ahmadinejad, Yoko Shioya
What: Virtual production and Q&A
Where: Japan Society YouTube channel
When: Through December 2, $15
Why: Since 2005, Japan Society has been presenting its popular “Play Reading Series: Contemporary Japanese Plays in English Translation.” But the fifteenth installment is going virtual, and it is more than just a reading; Satoko Ichihara’s curiously fascinating Underground Fairy has been reimagined for online viewing, performed live by Alice Victoria Winslow and Par Parekh and directed by Tara Ahmadinejad. The story follows a young half-human, half-fairy named Euriaeria (Winslow) who has an obsession with potatoes and not passing gas — a symbol for holding things in because of societal suppression of girls and women. Wearing cute ears and makeshift wings, Euriaeria leads the other (unseen) fairies, is joined by a furry creature (Parekh), gets a massage, plays with dolls, and delivers a love incantation. After the seventy-minute show, Ichihara (Favonia’s Fruitless Fable, The Question of Faeries), Ahmadinejad (Lunch Bunch, Disclaimer), and Japan Society artistic director Yoko Shioya take part in a discussion about the work.