★★★✰✰
In a trend that started with Hamilton, and continued with Six, another new musical has emerged that tells the history that the books sometimes miss. The central figure at the heart of Tokyo Rose is none other than Iva Toguri.
You can be forgiven if you don’t recognise the name; I didn’t either. As the show went on though, I was utterly compelled by this figure. A Japanese-American woman born in 1916, a graduate of UCLA, and convicted and jailed for treason during World War 2. Toguri’s life is fascinating, and this new musical seeks to share her story. Using her 1949 trial as a framework, the narrative dips in and out of various chapters of Toguri’s life: her childhood working in her parents’ shop; her time at UCLA. However, the main focus is her time in Japan, in which she went to care for an ailing aunt but found herself working for Radio Tokyo. It was her time at the radio station, and particularly her work with the show ‘The Zero Hour’ that led to her arrest; the court citing her broadcasts as Japanese propaganda.
The musical uses a small ensemble cast—entirely women—to tell this story, emphasising the focus of women’s roles in the war. Each woman, excluding Maya Britto as Toguri, multi-roles as a number of characters as the show flicks between different chapters of our hero’s life. This limited cast allows for an intimacy between the actors and audience, but at times was also cause for confusion, with costume changes not always being distinct enough to distinguish between roles.
It’s stylistically very ‘girl-band’, again drawing to similarities to Six. The music is heavily influenced by contemporary pop, demonstrated through the electro beats in the opening number. This is also amplified by the use of a backing track rather than any live instrumentation. When the story moves from America to Japan, the musical styles shift too, with Eastern cultural influences making their way into the composition. It’s not the most memorable of soundtracks, but the cast deliver it with flawless technique. In particular, Hannah Benson’s vocal arrangements astound; each instance of vocal layering and the presence of intricate harmonies give goosebumps throughout.
However, the vocal performances prove far more compelling than the acting. Everyone gives it their all, but the plucky optimism of the lead, as well as some over-acted supporting characters, mean that the execution of it all verges on cheesy. While there is undeniable strength in Toguri’s story, the script (paired with the musical style and choreography), lend to a sort of ‘girlboss’ feminism that is all too modern—recognising female power in current terms rather than reckoning with what it would have looked like in the 40s.
That being said, while the writing struggles, the stage on which it is set is really well done. A large central podium, flanked on its side by traditional Japanese folding screens, make up the main focal point of the staging. The other element is a series of moving wooden parts, used as a multitude of settings: benches in the courtroom, desks at Radio Tokyo, the counters at the Toguri family’s shop. The other aspect in which the show soars, is its brilliantly used lighting design, highlighted even more so in a venue as intimate at Southwark Playhouse.
While it is a technical triumph, its inconsistent tone means that it never really finds its feet. As well, for a show about Japanese-Americans in the war, it wrestles with America’s faults a lot less than it should, other than one scathing scene.
It’s a show that has a lot of potential, and it tells a story worth telling, but it has a long way to go to reach the heights its hero did.
Tokyo Rose is playing at the Southwark Playhouse until 16 October, before continuing its UK tour.
Words by Rehana Nurmahi
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