A poignant, bunraku-style puppet play for older children and adults based on the life of Sadako Sasaki. At two, Sadako survived the Hiroshima atom bomb but ten years later developed leukemia. A Japanese legend tells: ‘if you fold 1000 origami cranes, your wish will be granted’; Sadako began folding paper.
We leave our children a complicated legacy, growing up in a world where they face the consequences of adults’ actions: war; nuclear power; global warming; HIV. Sadako’s experience transcends culture and period and is able to speak to a contemporary South African or French youth audience. Young people who have shifted from picture books to art galleries; from nursery-rhymes to pop music. They are ready for theatre that can offer them cathartic and transformative experiences; challenge them with profoundly moving and thought provoking ideas. Sadako is real theatre for young people.
Other Highlights
My fest favourite… a human story that goes straight for the heart. – Kgomotso Moncho, The Star Tonight
… clarity of vision and intent that is rare, an exquisitely moving true fable… adults can still be transfixed by a powerful yarn that appeals to our inner child. – Christine Kennedy, CUE
Duration: 90 minutes
Age Range: 11 years+
Grades: Grade 8+
Language(s): English
Curriculum Connection: Creative Arts, Design, Dramatic Arts, History, Home/Additional Language, Social Sciences, Visual Arts
Themes covered: Creativity, Cultural diversity, Death, Family dynamics, Identity, Illness and Disease, Imagination, Loss, Morality, Relationships, Survival