Photo: Sho Sugano
Mother Forest
14 November 2026 | The Place, London
Mother Forest is a striking new ensemble piece, bringing together three generations of butoh lineage for the first time on a UK stage. An homage to Kazuo Ohno and his philosophy of dance as something spontaneous and unrepeatable, it is led by Mitsuyo Uesugi, who trained and performed alongside him for decades (including at The Place in London back in 1980). For this once-in-a-lifetime gathering, she is joined by four extraordinary artists: Makiko Takamatsu, Seiji Tanaka and MUTSUMINEIRO, each shaped by her practice and bringing her own fierce, distinctive voice to this living continuation of Ohno's spirit.
We are on the brink of stepping into a new realm, towards the Mother Forest...
This is an homage to the butoh dancer Kazuo Ohno.
Half a century ago... Perhaps even longer.
At the rehearsal studio in Kamihoshikawa, Mr. O opened a book of Bosch paintings: “The Garden of Earthly Delights”, “The Last Judgement”...
He held his hand over the pages, tenderly tracing the images with his fingers.
“I am in here. Hidden within everything. This is the kind of dance I want to do.”
Mr. O’s soul was parched. I spent so long in that space with him together. Do we now have the courage to take this on?
No, no doubts. Our chance has come. There is nothing to fear.
Because now that this project has begun, notwithstanding our generational differences, Mr. O’s ideas are etched in our bodies,
Growing as Desire.
Let us play on the palm of Mr. O’s hand, clinging to each finger
With our own thirst and passion, mayhaps even to a world of despair.
But now, let us be led, delicately, boldly,
into a world of fables, brimming with mystery.
“The world is created within this transparent glass sphere.”*
— Mitsuyo Uesugi
*from Kambara Masaaki's Reading Bosch's 'The Garden of Earthly Delights'
Photos: Gen Kasuga & Sho Sugano
