Harold Pinter theatre, London
The sad love story between bereaved piano prodigy Kōsei and free-spirit Kaori is played with verve – but what worked on paper and as an anime TV series stutters on stage
This modern high-school musical with a baroque twist splices Japanese manga aesthetics with a classic Broadway sound, which makes for a strange hybrid creation. Adapted from Naoshi Arakawa’s bestselling manga, what works on paper (and as an anime TV series) appears rather more stuttering on stage.
It features a sad love story between piano prodigy Kōsei Arima (Zheng Xi Yong), who is unable to hear the music he plays after the death of his mother (Lucy Park), and free-spirit Kaori Miyazono (Mia Kobayashi), who inspires him to perform again.