Vanishing Point x KAAT - Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey 品川猿の告白

Step into the subconscious with Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey, an international collaboration between Scotland’s Vanishing Point and Japan’s Kanagawa Arts Theatre (KAAT) that brings the celebrated world of author Haruki Murakami to the stage. Created by Matthew Lenton, Sandy Grierson and the company, the award-winning production returns to Scottish stages following its sold-out run in 2025, before heading on an international tour.

The story follows Mizuki, an ordinary woman whose ordinary life shifts off-course one day when she forgets her own name. Her search for answers leads deep into Tokyo’s subterranean underground. And high up in a mountain ryokan, a traveller is startled by a hot-spring-tending monkey who speaks ‘human language’, enjoys Bruckner and beer, and is teetering on the edge of a profound, alarming confession.

Featuring a cast from Scotland and Japan, the production uses an atmospheric mix of performance, puppetry, striking soundscapes and lighting design, and is performed in both English and Japanese, with bilingual captioning seamlessly built into the stage design.

For contemporary theatre-goers, Murakami readers, and anyone drawn to Japanese culture, Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey offers a beautifully crafted window into a unique style of storytelling and an unforgettable journey into the surreal.

Access

Subtitled. Captioned. Highly visual.

*Sunday 21 March, 2pm: This performance will be BSL-interpreted. D/deaf audience members can buy tickets at a reduced price of £15.

Ticket offers

Early Bird Offer: Book before 31 January 2027 for discounted full-price and concession tickets. The discount is applied at checkout.