Kenta Yamazaki | Furousha "The Dark Comedy" (Part 1)
A review of Furousha's "The Dark Comedy" (written and directed by Yuya Nishida), analyzing six stories that use bovine imagery to depict toxic masculinity and homosocial bonds.Summary
This article is the first part of a review of "The Dark Comedy" (written and directed by Yuya Nishida), a new work by the company Furousha created as part of Rohm Theatre Kyoto's "Repertoire Creation HOPES" program. The author begins by observing that those who hold power cannot be laughed at, and that the only permitted laughter is the complicit laughter of those on the side of power, positioning the play as a "comedy that cannot be laughed at." The review also asks whether the work might be an attempt to neutralize power by dragging the powerful down into the object of laughter.
"The Dark Comedy" consists of six stories set in the fictional town of Gokumachi, each titled with a phrase beginning with "Cow's," and all performed by the same cast, giving the impression that they are variations on a single narrative. The article outlines the plots of the first story, "The Cow's Death," the second, "The Cow's Tale," and the fourth, "The Cow's Invitation." In the first, a man and woman visiting a lodging house converted from a mansion quarrel over the manager, and the woman vanishes as if drawn into the darkness by a giant creature with a cow's face. In the second, a minotaur boy named Minota awakens to the truth of the world, confesses to his best friend Yagisuke that he is bipedal and carnivorous, and their relationship breaks down. In the fourth, the training of boys devoted to the ancient ball game "Mobo" gradually takes on a sexual dimension.
The author argues that bovine imagery and related keywords run through all the stories, and that the work depicts closed communities arising from toxic masculinity and homosocial relationships. This is Part 1; Part 2 is scheduled for publication on November 11, 2026.
(Source：artscape)