Warai no Daigaku: University of Laughs
Encyclopedia
Warai no Daigaku: University of Laughs is a story by Japanese dramatist Mitani Koki which began as a play in 1997 starring actors Nishimura Masahiko as the Censor and Kondo Yoshimasa as the Playwright. Masahiko Nishimura won the Best Theatre Actor award for his performance in the play.
After success it was then made into a movie in 2004 starring actors Yakusho Koji and Goro Inagaki
by Fuji Television
and Toho Studios. The major theme of the piece is censorship vs. an artist's freedom of expression, but it is a comedy and was intended so, not a political commentary as it may seem .
Tsubaki comes to have his script checked by the censors before rehearsals begin. But the censor, who is looking for an excuse to shut down the comedy troupe at which Tsubaki works, tells him that his whole play sucks and Tsubaki would have to rewrite it completely before Sakisaka would let it be performed.
But what starts as cruel teasing makes the once poor-quality play better and better as Tsubaki returns day after day to have it torn to shreds and criticized over and over again. Finally the play is perfected and Sakisaka's dislike of Tsubaki turns into respect for his talent.
The play was originally performed at Parco Theatre in Shibuya
, Tokyo
, Japan
in 1997 with high acclaim.
The movie was then released in 2004 by Toho Studios, and directed by Hoshii Mamoru, who was chosen by the screenwriter himself for his previous work in directing one of his other successful stories, Furuhata Ninzaburo
.
previewed the West End
scheduled English
-language version of the play (with a new title, The Last Laugh), starring British
actors Martin Freeman
as the Playwright and Roger Lloyd Pack
as the Censor.
, Enomoto Kenichi. He claims that the play was not meant to be any sort of political commentary, nor was it inspired by current events. Instead, Mitani is known to often turn to history for jidaigeki
such as his popular Shinsengumi
serial drama.
Even though the story deals with censorship, the story does not portray a negative view of it. In fact, the charm of this story is the clever way in which Tsubaki's play improves as a result of having to work around the constrictions that Sakisaka places upon him. If it were a commentary on the oppression of artists, then Mitani would have presented the censorship in a more negative light.
However, in an interview for The Japan Times
Mitani did admit that the play was timely and had potential to be sympathised with even by people from other countries and cultures.
After success it was then made into a movie in 2004 starring actors Yakusho Koji and Goro Inagaki
Goro Inagaki
is a Japanese musician and actor from Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan. Inagaki is a member of the Japanese pop group SMAP. His career began while he was in junior high school, when his sister submitted his picture to a talent company; he was subsequently chosen to join SMAP, which has a considerable...
by Fuji Television
Fuji Television
is a Japanese television station based in Daiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, also known as or CX, based on the station's callsign "JOCX-DTV". It is the flagship station of the Fuji News Network and the ....
and Toho Studios. The major theme of the piece is censorship vs. an artist's freedom of expression, but it is a comedy and was intended so, not a political commentary as it may seem .
Plot
Set in 1940 , a young playwright, Tsubaki Hajime (Inagaki / Kondo) comes up against a government censor, Sakisaka Mutsuo (Yakusho / Nishimura). The censor's job is to prevent anything political or taboo from getting into the pre-war media, but this censor has a thing against comedy, too.Tsubaki comes to have his script checked by the censors before rehearsals begin. But the censor, who is looking for an excuse to shut down the comedy troupe at which Tsubaki works, tells him that his whole play sucks and Tsubaki would have to rewrite it completely before Sakisaka would let it be performed.
But what starts as cruel teasing makes the once poor-quality play better and better as Tsubaki returns day after day to have it torn to shreds and criticized over and over again. Finally the play is perfected and Sakisaka's dislike of Tsubaki turns into respect for his talent.
Production
This is a two-man play that is given dimension through film.The play was originally performed at Parco Theatre in Shibuya
Shibuya, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, it has an estimated population of 208,371 and a population density of 13,540 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 km²....
, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1997 with high acclaim.
The movie was then released in 2004 by Toho Studios, and directed by Hoshii Mamoru, who was chosen by the screenwriter himself for his previous work in directing one of his other successful stories, Furuhata Ninzaburo
Furuhata Ninzaburo
is a Japanese television series that ran periodically on Fuji Television from 1994 until its final episodes in 2006. It was written by Japanese playwright Koki Mitani and being known as the Japanese's version of Columbo....
.
Last Laugh
In July 2007, Parco Theatre in ShibuyaShibuya, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, it has an estimated population of 208,371 and a population density of 13,540 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 km²....
previewed the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
scheduled English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-language version of the play (with a new title, The Last Laugh), starring British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actors Martin Freeman
Martin Freeman
Martin John C. Freeman is an English actor. He is known for his roles as John in Love Actually, Tim Canterbury in the BBC's Golden Globe-winning comedy The Office, Arthur Dent in the film adaptation of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Dr. John Watson in Sherlock and Mr. Madden...
as the Playwright and Roger Lloyd Pack
Roger Lloyd Pack
Roger Lloyd-Pack is an English actor known for his roles in the TV shows The Vicar of Dibley, Only Fools and Horses and The Old Guys.-Career:...
as the Censor.
Differences Between the Play and Movie
The only major differences in the two versions was the addition of other non-speaking characters in the opening sequence of the movie for placement, and the cut of a running gag about a stranded crow being cared for by Sakisaka (the Censor) in the original play.Writer's Take
Mitani Koki, the writer of the scenario, claims that his inspiration for Tsubaki came from Kikuya Sakae, who was the writer for the comedy star of the Shōwa periodShowa period
The , or Shōwa era, is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of the Shōwa Emperor, Hirohito, from December 25, 1926 through January 7, 1989.The Shōwa period was longer than the reign of any previous Japanese emperor...
, Enomoto Kenichi. He claims that the play was not meant to be any sort of political commentary, nor was it inspired by current events. Instead, Mitani is known to often turn to history for jidaigeki
Jidaigeki
is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. The name means "period drama" and is usually the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—Portrait of Hell, for example, is set during the late Heian period—and the early Meiji era is also a popular...
such as his popular Shinsengumi
Shinsengumi
The were a special police force of the late shogunate period.-Historical background:After Japan opened up to the West following U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's visits in 1853, its political situation gradually became more and more chaotic...
serial drama.
Even though the story deals with censorship, the story does not portray a negative view of it. In fact, the charm of this story is the clever way in which Tsubaki's play improves as a result of having to work around the constrictions that Sakisaka places upon him. If it were a commentary on the oppression of artists, then Mitani would have presented the censorship in a more negative light.
However, in an interview for The Japan Times
The Japan Times
The Japan Times is an English language newspaper published in Japan. Unlike its competitors, the Daily Yomiuri and the International Herald Tribune/Asahi Shimbun, it is not affiliated with a Japanese language media organization...
Mitani did admit that the play was timely and had potential to be sympathised with even by people from other countries and cultures.