Correspondence: Christopher Rüping × Mieko Kawakami — On the Stage Production Crave, Depicting Love, Loneliness, and the Desire for Intimacy
Director Christopher Rüping and author Mieko Kawakami exchange letters on Sarah Kane's Crave and its themes of love and loneliness.Summary
This autumn, as part of the performing arts festival Autumn Meteorite 2026 Tokyo, centered at Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, the production Crave will be staged, directed by Christopher Rüping, a rising director attracting major attention in German-speaking theatre. The source material is Sarah Kane's play Crave (premiered 1998), written by the playwright who took her own life at 28. Rüping, who entered theatre after encountering Kane's work, adds a fifth role to the original four actors who speak poetic fragments; this fifth actor is placed on stage as a "reacting presence," speaking not a word while only their facial expressions are projected on screen. Before the Japan premiere of Rüping's production, Tokyo Art Beat commissioned an exchange of letters between Rüping and novelist Mieko Kawakami, who have deepened their connection since Rüping adapted Kawakami's novel Breasts and Eggs for the stage. Moved by seeing the German production of Crave with English subtitles, Kawakami asks three questions: about directing Sarah Kane today, about the fifth actor played by Wiebke Mollenhauer, and about what it means to act when performers do not impose known emotions but let the text act upon their bodies. The article presents an intimate and stimulating dialogue between two artists.
(Source：Tokyo Art Beat)