Empire of the Son

WHO

Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre

WHEN

10/01/2016 – 10/09/2016

WHERE

Oregon Shakespeare Festival

Ashland

Written and Performed By Tetsuro Shigematsu
Directed by Richard Wolfe
Produced by Donna Yamamoto
Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre

Empire of the Son is the story of two generations of broadcasters, and the radio silence between them. As father and son, Akira and Tetsuro Shigematsu shared the same profession– each of them communicating with millions of their listeners, but never with each other. Based on a series of audio interviews with his father, former CBC broadcaster Tetsuro Shigematsu combines cinematography with the raw immediacy of live performance to magically conjure entire worlds: from the ashes of Hiroshima to present-day Vancouver, marshaling the tiniest of objects to focus on life’s biggest questions.

About Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre
Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre (VACT) was established in 2001 to develop and produce professional Asian Canadian theater productions and talent, and to serve as a nexus of the Asian Canadian theater community by hosting readings, fundraisers, showcases and other opportunities for social and professional networking. Since 2013, with the appointment of Donna Yamamoto as the company’s first new Artistic Director since its founding, VACT has quickly transformed from a community theater into a dynamic professional organization. Tetsuro Shigematsu’s Empire of the Son is VACT’s most artistically ambitious production to date, and premiered in fall 2015.