Stage Play 'Meilleure Soirée' Starring Yuki Koshika to be Held at Kyoto Theatre in October 2026

It has been announced that the Kyoto Theatre will host the stage play 'Meilleure Soirée: The Best Evening Performance' on Saturday, October 24th, and Sunday, October 25th, 2026. This production is a well-made comedy featuring both standard Japanese and Kansai dialect, written and directed by Murazumi Tahiro of 'THE ROB CARLTON,' a Kyoto-based company popular for its fast-paced dialogue plays.

The story is set at a performance venue where four actors from the Kansai region are staging a Japanese adaptation of a London play titled 'Is It the Men's Turn?'. After successfully completing the matinee, the curtain rises for the evening performance (soirée). However, instead of the expected lines, what echoes through the theater is... 'the sound of someone sleeping on stage during the live show.'

With one cast member fast asleep due to the side effects of allergy medication, can they manage to bring the play to a successful conclusion?

The play-within-a-play in the first half links to the events unfolding on stage in the second half, leading to a climactic finale where all the foreshadowing turns into uproarious laughter.

The cast features a diverse lineup from young talent to veterans, led by Yuki Koshika (4U), who continues to captivate audiences with his solid acting skills and dazzling performances in numerous leading roles on stage and in his group activities.

Yuki Koshika plays the earnest yet naive character, Kiyoshi Taka. He portrays an actor with a stoic belief that 'the script must not be changed for an actor's convenience.' While being a key person in the story, his earnestness leads to a somewhat 'absent-minded' nature, further accelerating the chaos on stage.

Sho Kato, who has gained attention for his roles in popular productions including 2.5-dimensional plays, will play Shigeatsu Kobayashi, the youngest actor in the troupe. A highlight is his portrayal of a young father, torn and bewildered by the hard-boiled play-within-a-play, which might be a bit too intense for his wife and child watching from the audience.

Daichi Murasumi (THE ROB CARLTON), a multi-talented member of the company who also handles the music, plays the mid-career actor Jun Maegawara. He takes on the crucial role of igniting the comedy when he is 'overcome by intense drowsiness from allergy medicine' at a critical moment in the play-within-a-play. His ultimate 'static acting' of genuinely falling asleep on stage is a must-see. Furthermore, veteran actor Ichiro Mikami, known for his work with the theater company 'M.O.P.' and his continued success across film, TV, and stage, adds gravitas as the troupe's eldest member, Ichitaro Kamizato. He humorously portrays a character who, despite his experience, is weak against unexpected ad-libs and mishaps due to his meticulous process of building his performance based on cues.

Comment from Murazumi Tahiro (Writer/Director):
'Meilleure Soirée,' which we performed with THE ROB CARLTON in 2023, is an unforgettable work that our audience enjoyed beyond our wildest imaginations. This time, with Mr. Koshika, Mr. Kato, and Mr. Mikami joining us, the venues are the Kyoto Theatre and Hakuhinkan Theatre. Ah, to see our little tiger grow so big. Above all, I believe the persuasiveness of the play-within-a-play, 'Is It the Men's Turn?', will be exceptionally enhanced. A triple curtain call is inevitable. We will put our hearts into delivering the best possible performance.

Comment from Yuki Koshika (as Kiyoshi Taka):
I'm Yuki Koshika of 4U, and I'll be participating in 'Meilleure Soirée' as Kiyoshi. The story is about four Kansai actors performing a Japanese version of a London play... I'm excited to see how this fast-paced, dialogue-driven comedy with many comical lines will turn out under the direction of Mr. Murazumi. Please come to the theater to experience this world. I'll be waiting!

Comment from Sho Kato (as Shigeatsu Kobayashi):
I'm Sho Kato, and I'll be appearing in the stage play 'Meilleure Soirée'! I'm really, really looking forward to this!!! Among the many highlights, I want to deliver a comedy where the audience can feel the ultimate thrill through my character, directly experiencing the anxiety and tension that I feel as an actor who has been on stage many times, especially with the payoff of the story's foreshadowing.

Comment from Daichi Murasumi (as Jun Maegawara):