Tōrō & Rose

Commissioned by the Australian Children’s Theatre Foundation for 2020 - Tōrō & Rose is an engaging performance enacted through exciting visuals, narration, puppetry and dialogue, some in Japanese, but designed for English speaking audiences to follow.
​The play explores the true story of how in 1930, the cities of Yokohama and Seattle exchanged friendship gifts, prompted by American aid delivered during the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake.
The Japanese sent Seattle a stone lantern and the Americans responded with 1000 Roses. These were transported on the ship Hie Maru.
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 The event allows four fictional   characters to become friends -   Makoto, a Japanese gardener, Frank,   an American gardener, Tōrō, a gentle   Chin dog and Rose, a grumpy cat. 

When war breaks out in 1941, these characters, understanding that we share more in common then we hold in differences,  preserve their friendship and work to plant the seeds of peace. 
The Taiko-Gata lantern still in Seward Park, Seattle & Children’s Botanic Garden in Yokohama where the American roses, or their descendants, still grow.