Death Note's Tatsuya Fujiwara to star in Singapore stage play in April

Japanese actor Tatsuya Fujiwara will be performing a stage play in Singapore soon.

The 43-year-old will be starring in End of the World and Hard-Boiled Wonderland, the theatrical adaptation of Haruki Murakami's award-winning 1985 book.

The production sees two parallel narratives unfold simultaneously, alternating between the cyberpunk world of Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the surrealistic virtual fantasy of The End of the World.

Tatsuya takes on the role of data specialist Watashi in Hard-Boiled Wonderland. Skilled in encrypting information using a technique called "shuffling", his life takes a tailspin when he meets the mysterious Doctor (Narushi Ikeda) and his granddaughter Pink (Miu Tomita).

Meanwhile, End of the World follows Boku (played by Kiita Komagine and Ryunosuke Shimamura), who arrives in a peaceful and ordinary city surrounded by high walls. Upon entering the city, Boku is separated from his shadow by the gatekeeper (Shinya Matsuda) and is told that when his Shadow (Shuntaro Miyao) dies, he will lose his heart. Boku then embarks on a journey to help his shadow escape and discover the city's true identity.

Singapore is the only Southeast Asian stop for the show, which will run from April 3 to 5 at Esplanade Theatre.

Tatsuya last performed at the venue in 2013 for the production Musashi and he told The Straits Times: "It has been 13 years, but I still vividly remember the energy of Singapore and the wonderful acoustics of the Esplanade."

Best known for playing Shuya Nanahara in the films Battle Royale (2000 to 2003) and Light Yagami in Death Note (2006 to 2016), Tatsuya said people still call him by the character names two decades later.

"Every time I hear someone call me Nanahara or Light, it reminds me of how fortunate I was to be part of such remarkable works," he said.

Tatsuya has also starred in other hit movies such as 2010's The Incite Mill and the live action Rurouni Kenshin films in 2014.

His career in theatre is just as impressive, with titles such as Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet as well as Harry Potter and the Cursed Child under his belt.

Those interested to catch him perform live can head to Esplanade's website. Tickets start at $68.

The shows, performed in Japanese with English surtitles, will start at 8pm on April 3 and 4, and 2pm on April 5.

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syarifahsn@asiaone.com