KOKI MITANI
Koki Mitani was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1961. Originally intending to go into medicine, while at university Mitani made a number of short films and eventually graduated in theatre. His inspiration in the theatre came more from the West than from Japan, from such masters of the comic art as Billy Wilder and Woody Allen. Probably his greatest idol is Neil Simon (with whom he is now gratified to be compared), and it is no coincidence that the theatre group he set up at the university in 1983 was named the Tokyo Sunshine Boys,.
Their first success came in 1990 with Mitani’s parody of Reginald Rose’s classic Twelve Angry Men which was entitled (roughly translated) GENTLE TWELVE(Twelve Gentle Japanese). Won Kinokuniya Award. Mitani also starred in the piece, and the play was made into film in 1991.
In the same year, the Tokyo Sunshine Boys scored what was probably their biggest hit with another stage play penned by Mitani, The Show Must Go On. The group entered the period of dormancy for thirty years since 1994 to recharge its energy. Having the “temporary” shutdown of the group, Mitani started to write a number of scripts for various TV dramas, and recently began to direct films as well.
Koki Mitani has worked as a freelance playwright and director. Mitani has been releasing new plays at the Parco Theater as his home field every year since 1993. |
