Nuremberg Chronicles
Taking the Stage in Germany
Staatstheater Nurnberg / May 2022
A Temple of German Theater
Staatstheater Nurnberg is one of the most prestigious theaters in the German-speaking world, located in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany. Opened in 1905, it is a comprehensive arts institution with four departments — opera, ballet, drama, and concert — boasting over 120 years of history.
The title "Staatstheater" (State Theater) is reserved in Germany only for theaters operated by the state. The Bavarian state government covers the majority of operating costs, balancing artistic freedom with financial stability. To stand on the stage of this theater means being formally recognized in the European theater world.
Nuremberg itself has a deep history as a cultural city. It is the birthplace of Albrecht Durer and the setting of Richard Wagner's "Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg." That a Japanese rental family operator would make a video appearance at this city's theater symbolized just how unpredictable the trajectory of Yuichi Ishii's life had been.
A Japanese man takes the stage at a prestigious German state theater. Performing at a state-operated theater of such high standing is proof of being formally recognized in the European theater world.
Staatstheater Nurnberg
Opened
1905
Location
Nuremberg, Bavaria
Operated by
Bavarian State Government
Departments
Opera, Ballet, Drama, Concert
From Tokyo to Nuremberg
Having completed his work as a "proxy" in Fukushima, Ishii's next step was to travel to Germany. The footage he shot in Fukushima would be projected on the stage of the Staatstheater Nurnberg. But beyond that, Ishii himself traveled to Germany to meet the theater's staff and cast in person.
A rental family operator from Tokyo being invited to a German state theater — this was a new pinnacle in Ishii's international career that began with Herzog's film. He had walked the red carpet at Cannes, watched his own face on German cinema screens, and now he was about to stand on the stage of a prestigious German theater.
Ishii doesn't speak German. His English isn't fluent either. But that wasn't a problem. The "pre-linguistic communication skills" he cultivated as a rental family member — facial expressions, gestures, tone of voice, timing — transcended language barriers. The "ability to connect without words" he learned during his days as a care worker proved effective even in a foreign theater.
Yuichi Ishii's International Career
2018
Filming of Herzog's "Family Romance, LLC"
2019
Cannes Film Festival Red Carpet
2021
Visited Fukushima as Stockmann's proxy
2022
Video appearance at Staatstheater Nurnberg
The Day He Was Recognized on a German Street
Yuichi Ishii taking a selfie with a fan on a German street corner, dressed in a slim suit
Yuichi Ishii set foot on German soil for his stage appearance. But even outside the theater, Ishii was a "celebrity." Herzog's film "Family Romance, LLC" had been released in Germany, and there were Germans who recognized his face.
Walking through the streets of Nuremberg, he was approached. "You're the person from the Family Romance movie, aren't you?" A rental family operator from Tokyo being recognized by movie fans on a German street corner — an unexpected reality brought about by Herzog's film.
Ishii doesn't speak German. But the language barrier didn't matter. Smiles and gestures, and the "ability to connect with people's hearts" — the pre-linguistic communication skills cultivated since his days as a care worker proved effective even in a foreign land. He took selfies with fans, exchanged handshakes, and even when words didn't connect, hearts did.
A man who had spent his career playing "other people's lives" in Japan was recognized as "himself" in Germany. As a rental family member, Ishii was always "a substitute for someone," but in Germany, Yuichi Ishii the individual was accepted as an artist through film and stage.
If Herzog's film made Ishii an "actor," Stockmann's stage made Ishii an "artistic methodology." In a foreign land, Ishii was living two roles simultaneously.
Five Stockmanns
Julia Bartolome
Julia Bartolome
Actor
One of Stockmann's alter egos. Expresses emotional nuances with delicacy
Lewellyn Reichman
Lewellyn Reichman
Actor
Brings dynamic energy to the stage with his energetic performance
Moritz Grove
Moritz Grove
Actor
Embodies intellect and inner conflict
Raphael Rubino
Raphael Rubino
Actor
Draws audiences in with introspective performance
Yuichi Ishii
Yuichi Ishii
Video Appearance
The only Japanese participant, joining the stage through Fukushima footage
On stage, playwright Stockmann appears as five alter egos — four German actors and Yuichi Ishii projected via video footage. The four actors embody Stockmann's "thoughts," "emotions," "memories," and "conflicts" respectively, while Ishii represents "action" — the act of actually going to Fukushima and meeting people there.
During the rehearsal period, a bond beyond language formed between Ishii and the cast. Ishii doesn't speak German, but they shared the common language of theater. Communication through expression — that was an extension of what Ishii practiced daily as a rental family member.
A single person splitting into multiple beings, existing simultaneously in physically separate locations — that was precisely the business model of Family Romance.
Rubino, Ishii, Bartolome, Reichman, Grove — Photo: Lion Bischof / Staatstheater Nurnberg
The Moment Before the Lights
Behind the stage lies a world the audience never sees. Final costume adjustments, fine-tuning of lighting, sound checks, and the tension and excitement of the performers — Ishii witnessed all of it.
The backstage of Staatstheater Nurnberg was a space that made you feel its 120 years of history. Massive stage machinery, fly systems reaching to the ceiling, and corridors walked by generations of actors — all of it conveyed the weight of German theatrical tradition.
For Ishii, the backstage experience was "another stage." In his rental family work, there was always the "performance" — acting in front of clients. But stage art has an important time called "preparation." In the silence before the lights come on, Ishii deepened his self-awareness as a "performer."
Photos: Staatstheater Nurnberg
The Collision of Baroque and Technology
Five Alter Egos — Four Actors and One Video Performer
On stage, playwright Stockmann appears as five alter egos. Four German actors perform on stage, while Yuichi Ishii serves as the "proxy" on a massive video screen, delivering the landscapes of Fukushima and the voices of its people. The audience moves back and forth between the four German-speaking actors and one Japanese-speaking video performer, questioned about the boundary between "proxy" and "real."
The Contrast of Baroque Ornamentation and Cutting-Edge Technology
Director Jan-Christoph Gockel intentionally contrasted lavish Baroque ornamentation with the latest video technology. Gold leaf decorations, actors in fluorescent capes dancing under blacklight — the splendor of the 18th century collides with the dark reality of a nuclear accident.
The ornate Baroque decoration symbolized the optimism of nuclear energy promotion. "Clean energy," "technological progress," "a prosperous future" — pre-accident propaganda was as splendid as a Baroque palace, and just as hollow. Gockel exposed the "invisible reactor" hidden behind that splendor on stage.
Blacklight and Tsunami Waves
Tsunami waves cut from scroll saws, mechanical props, white paper fragments fluttering like confetti — physical props and digital video projections alternated. Then suddenly, Fukushima footage was projected on screen. Real disaster-area landscapes filmed by Ishii. The contrast between lavish Baroque decorations and devastated disaster footage shocked the audience.
"The Invisible Reactor" — radiation is invisible. The impact of the nuclear accident continues to change people's lives in invisible ways. And Ishii himself on the screen is also an "invisible presence" — not physically there, yet at the center of the stage.
Photos: Konrad Fersterer / Staatstheater Nurnberg
Photos: Konrad Fersterer / Staatstheater Nurnberg
Critical Acclaim
"Imaginative Direction"
— Suddeutsche Zeitung
One of Germany's most authoritative daily newspapers, the Suddeutsche Zeitung, highly praised Gockel's direction. They particularly noted the contrast between Baroque ornamentation and video technology, and the "presence of absence" brought by Ishii's video appearance.
"A Hall of Mirrors"
— Nurnberger Nachrichten
The local newspaper called the production "a hall of mirrors," referring to the structure where five Stockmanns reflect each other and the boundary between reality and fiction continuously shifts. Ishii's footage was "another mirror" at the center of that labyrinth.
Major German theater criticism media, including nachtkritik.de, covered this production. The unique methodology of visiting Fukushima as a proxy, the contrast between Baroque ornamentation and video technology, and the multilayered meaning suggested by the title "The Invisible Reactor" were highly praised.
Critics particularly noted the "presence of absence" that Ishii's video appearance brought to the stage. A person not physically there existing at the center of the stage through a screen — that resonated with the "invisible" impact of the nuclear accident. Furthermore, the very fact that "a Japanese rental family operator participated in a German state theater production" stimulated critics' imagination.
German media coverage — Photo: Staatstheater Nurnberg
Yuichi Ishii in Nuremberg
Photo: Rakuda Studios
Photo: Rakuda Studios
Photo: Rakuda Studios
Dramatic portraits of Yuichi Ishii taken during the Nuremberg performance period. Three photos that quietly tell the story of his transformation from a rental family operator to an international stage performer.
On the stage of Staatstheater Nurnberg
Staatstheater Nurnberg
Stage photo — Fukushima footage projection
Konrad Fersterer
Stage photo — German actors
Konrad Fersterer
Stage photo — Fukushima projection
Konrad Fersterer
Stage photo — fluttering paper
Konrad Fersterer
Yuichi Ishii video projection
Konrad Fersterer
Wide stage panorama
Konrad Fersterer
With a fan on a German street
Cast group photo
Lion Bischof
Cast group photo
Lion Bischof
Cast group photo
Lion Bischof
German media coverage
Staatstheater Nurnberg