Celebrated director Yukio Ninagawa returns to the Barbican Theatre with Musashi, following the sell out Kabuki season of Twelfth Night.

Set in the early 17th century, six years after the Duel of Ganryu between legendary swordsmen, Kojiro Sasaki and Musashi Miyamoto, the play joins Kojiro on a mission for retribution. Using the contemporary comedy elements of Noh and Kyogen and the spirit of the Samurai, Musashi demonstrates the ultimate futility of seeking vengeance.

Musashi, which premiered in Tokyo in 2009, stars two of Japan’s most talented and successful young actors, Tatsuya Fujiwara as Musashi and Ryo Katsuji as Kojiro.

Ninagawa’s revisions of Shakespearean classics within a Japanese cultural tradition have been met with high acclaim. Previous Barbican bite productions include Twelfth Night (2009) and Coriolanus (2007), while his production of Titus Andronicus was part of the RSC Complete Works Festival in 2006.

Musashi is suitable for theatregoers aged 14 and older, and is performed in Japanese with English surtitles.