Jin Rock Lime: Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler Reborn as a Modern Rock-Band Drama | Curtain Calls in Full Bloom #5

Say it in English, “Jin rocks lime,” and the cocktail name turns into a sentence: Jin rocks the lime. Hiroshi Takahagi, director of Setagaya Public Theatre, reviews the PARCO Theater’s March production, which adapts Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler into the story of a present-day rock band. (From installment 5 of “Curtain Calls in Full Bloom,” Hon no Machi, June 2026 issue)

A Double Meaning Hidden in the Title

The PARCO Theater’s March production is titled Jin Rock Lime. It rolls easily off the tongue and brings to mind a refreshing drink: gin on the rocks with a wedge of lime. But write it in English as “Jin rocks lime,” and it stops being a cocktail name. It becomes a sentence describing an action, “Jin rocks the lime.” More than simple wordplay, it foreshadows the concrete story that unfolds on stage.

Indeed, the production takes Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler (translated into Japanese by Mitsuya Mori, Ronsosha, 2021) as its foundation and recasts it as the story of present-day rock musicians. It was directed by Akira Shirai, artistic director of Setagaya Public Theatre, who, the author writes, pulled the set design, lighting and video together skillfully.

A Dazzling Opening

The lead is Yuya Takaki of the idol group Hey! Say! JUMP. The play opens with a rock concert scene, and his glittering, full-throated shouting leaves his fans satisfied. Just as it seems he will go on to give us a proper set of songs, the hero, Jin, suddenly stops singing and turns to face the fans in the seats, that is, the audience.

At the back of the stage is a room with a wide balcony. It serves as both music studio and office, and below it stands a lime tree. The story has it that the tree is a sudachi, the citrus Tokushima Prefecture is famous for, planted there because the previous company president came from Tokushima.

Opposite him, as the young musician Eito, is Mario Kurobane, who started out in “2.5-dimensional” theater (stage adaptations of manga and anime) and is now a star of the musical world. The article writes that he convincingly brings to life an ambitious young man blessed with charm and talent.

The production reverses the genders of the world Ibsen depicted and portrays love and talent in today’s rock music scene. To find out where the story leads, read the full article, available in the June issue PDF.

Hiroshi Takahagi
Born in 1953. Director of Setagaya Public Theatre. He has held posts including deputy director of Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre and has long been involved in running Japan’s public theaters. His books include Boku to Engeki to Yume no Yuminsha (Me, Theater and Yume no Yuminsha). He writes the series “Curtain Calls in Full Bloom” for Hon no Machi.

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This article introduces installment 5 of “Curtain Calls in Full Bloom” by Hiroshi Takahagi (director of Setagaya Public Theatre), published in the June 2026 issue (Vol. 14) of Hon no Machi, the community salon magazine of Kanda, Ochanomizu and Jimbocho.

▶Read the June 2026 issue of Hon no Machi (PDF, in Japanese)

Founded in 1980, Hon no Machi brings you the latest from Book Town every month, together with Jimbocho’s bookstores, publishers, cafés and galleries.

▶ For other installments of “Curtain Calls in Full Bloom,” see All installments

日本語で読む — Read this article in Japanese