Plymouth’s Barbican Theatre is hosting the European and UK premiere of the unique Japanese cultural phenomenon of Undokai this month.
Laura Kriefman, Chief Executive Officer and Artistic Director, Barbican Theatre, Plymouth:
“Why can’t we, as a city, invent our own sports? Imagine people in Plymouth inventing the next ‘football’ or ‘curling’! I am so excited to be able to bring this amazing project to our city and see what games Plymothians want to make, to play together. We have our fingers crossed that this is the first year of many for Plymouth Undokai. I look forward to the laughter and the amazing games we invent.”
The sporting festival was created 150 years ago by the British Naval Officer Sir Archibald Lucius Douglas who served at the city’s Devonport dockyard before being posted to Japan. Undokai has been enjoyed by millions of players of all ages since 1874 and today 70,000 Undokai festivals are held annually in Japan.
Now the Barbican Theatre has brought the key cultural event back to Plymouth, staging the UK and European premiere of the Future Undokai Project, a groundbreaking Japanese initiative exploring the future of intergenerational community sports and how communities might design new multi-player physical games.
Produced by the Barbican, in partnership with The Future Undokai Project and the Undokai Association, Plymouth Undokai takes place at Plymouth Life Centre between November 18 and 26, with two weekends of games and a conference at the University of Plymouth.
The project will bring people together to take part in traditional Undokai games – similar to those they might play at a school sports day, fair or carnival but with a twist and a bit of tech mixed in. It will also create brand-new games for Plymouth. The initiative not only connected Plymouth to Japan 150 years ago, but it renews that link today, creating a joint future with the new Plymouth Undokai games. It also brings together the community, showcasing Plymouth’s expertise across the Navy, sporting excellence, technology and industry.
Tsubasa Nishi, Curator of YCAM a nd Producer and Co-founder of Future Undokai:
“Undokai sports events have a unique place within the Japanese psyche and mindset. There is nobody in Japan who has not experienced an Undokai. We can trace it back to 150 years ago when Japan was going through a period of modernisation. We invited people from Europe and America to Japan and one of those who was very influential in the modernisation of Japan was Sir Archibald Douglas of the British Navy. He came to Japan to help modernise and create a Navy and set up an academy to train Navy personnel.
“He developed a sports day model, where everyone has fun and works together. He felt that training needed to be combined with play and recreation and, since then, it has spread out through schools and community groups in Japan. We are really excited to be coming to the UK because the roots of the Undokai come from the UK, as Sir Archibald was stationed in Plymouth. We’re excited to go into the next stage of developing the concept that he brought to Japan – and inventing its future. Up until now, when we’ve hosted Undokai in Japan, it’s been born out of the culture and community. Rolling it out into the Life Centre, a focus for sports in Plymouth, that’s a first for us. I’m really intrigued and excited to see how the sporting community will take to it and what their view on it will be.”
People can take part in the Plymouth Undokai through two main ways : as a Player who plays the traditional games and the new games made in Plymouth (for ages eight to 88) and as a DeveloPlayer (correct) – someone who helps co-create the new games and events in Plymouth and then joins in with the players to play them.
More details: www.barbicantheatre.co.uk
