Shanghai's theater honors 6-year promise with memorial poetry, music show

Two performances of The Convention of the World, a spring poetry and music theater show, will be presented on March 22 at the 1862 Theater in Shanghai, honoring a six-year commitment born from an unfulfilled encounter with Japanese poet Shuntarou Tanikawa.

The matinee performance will welcome back 665 audience members from a 2019 show, who retained their original ticket stubs after Tanikawa was unable to appear due to illness. Despite being offered refunds, 90 percent of the attendees chose to stay for the performance, prompting the venue to promise a future show featuring the poet.

Following Tanikawa's passing in 2024, the theater decided to transform the promised performance into a commemorative event. 

The upcoming shows will feature a lineup of literary and musical artists, including Japanese poet Takahashi Mutsuo and Tanikawa's son, pianist Kensaku Tanikawa, who will interpret his father's works through piano performances accompanied by the Diva band.

Chinese poets Zhao Lihong, Zhai Yongming, Xi Chuan and Tian Yuan will join the tribute, along with the Shanghai Poly Children's Choir performing Astro Boy, a children's song featuring lyrics by the late poet.

The matinee show will offer the audience for the 2019 show special commemorative ticket stubs, an exclusive poetry reading segment and a poet signing session. The evening performance will feature additional programming, including Chinese singer-songwriter Chen Li performing three songs.

Tanikawa, born in 1931, was a prominent figure in Japanese arts and culture, popular for writing the theme songs of popular animations including Astro Boy and Howl's Moving Castle. His poetry-music theater collaborations with his son began in the 1990s.