Actors Give ‘Oppenheimer’ the Noh Treatment in English; Performances to Mark 80th Anniversaries of A-Bombings

The Yomiuri Shimbun

6:00 JST, July 23, 2025

The ghost of physicist Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967), who led the development of the U.S. atomic bomb, is the main character of a noh play titled “Oppenheimer,” which will be performed in English at Kita Noh Theater in the Meguro area of Tokyo, on Aug. 6 and 9.

The play will be presented by members of Theater Nohgaku, a group of mainly American performers studying noh. Marking 80 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it will raise questions about the nuclear threat as a global issue.

The play’s setting is an old temple in Hiroshima. Speaking to a pilgrim, Oppenheimer’s ghost admits his anguish over causing tragedy by making the atomic bombs. As he confesses, the ghost becomes prepared to take upon himself responsibility for the sin of inflicting suffering on mankind.

The production is organized by Theater Nohgaku and the Yanai Initiative, a collaboration between Waseda University and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The work was written in 2015 and will be performed in Japan for the first time.

The music was composed by Theater Nohgaku member Richard Emmert, 75, a professor emeritus at Musashino University. He said it is significant to stage the performances on Aug. 6 and 9, the dates on which the two cities were bombed. John Oglevee, 54, who plays the lead role, said that noh is more of a prayer than a play. He hopes that everyone will remember the tragedy of the atomic bombings.

Yanai Initiative Director Michael Emmerich, 49, a professor at Waseda University and UCLA, said that nuclear arms are horrific devices that expose people to radiation at various stages of the weapons’ development, manufacture, storage and dismantlement. He believes that having Theater Nohgaku, which brings together people from the United States and other countries, perform “Oppenheimer” as an English noh play will strongly convey the message that nuclear weapons are a global problem.

For tickets, contact Kita Noh Theater at (03) 3491-8813.