Japanese Grandma Funeral

Kento had to watch his grandma’s funeral on Zoom. She died in 2020, not long after the world shut down in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. He grouped round a laptop with his mum and dad and tried hard to reach out across the ether to his grandad. Japanese Grandma Funeral is Kento’s attempt to honour his grandma and the richly varied life she led.

The next thing you need to know is that Kento Morita is a clown. Kitted out in red lycra, glittered Onitsuka Tigers worthy of Dorothy, a red headband, and a red cross-body bag, he looks ill-equipped for the solemn occasion. But he needs our help with his tribute and so the show unfolds.

Zany is the best possible description of this interactive eulogy meets gameshow. Kento is quick-witted, very funny, physically adroit, and has a fabulous line in improv. Don’t let the audience participation put you off – this is very low key, low effort involvement, rewarded with the full force of Kento’s charm. At this performance, three up for it kids on the front row were eager to help out and Kento rolled with it admirably, artfully adjusting his script to keep it age appropriate.

In amongst the quips and the pranks, the soy sauce and the sweets, the mysterious voice from beyond and the daft endeavours, carefully orchestrated by director Saki Kawamura, we learn just enough about this Japanese Grandma to understand how Kento wound up in America – via a pickled plum – and why paying proper tribute to her matters quite so much. As the best clowns do, Kento’s art is plucking your heart out of your chest and giving it a bit of a wrench – before returning it with a winning smile. We can only hope that his grandma is looking on, with a front row seat and all her favourite snacks, feeling suitably proud.