Ken Watanabe to return to the stage after 12 years

Actor Ken Watanabe, 52, who is active in Japan and Hollywood, will return to the stage next year after a 12-year absence when he appears in the play, "A Dialogue With Horowitz" at PARCO Theater in Tokyo's Shibuya.

The play, directed by Koki Mitani, will be run from next February through March.

Lately, playwright Mitani has been releasing plays specifically about the struggle of European artists, such as "Les Confidents," a story set in Paris, and "Kokumin no Eiga, set in Berlin. This time, though, he shifts his focus to America to write about piano master Vladimir Samoilovich Horowitz, and Franz Mohr, a piano technician who supported Horowitz's legend.

Although the role of Horowitz has not yet been cast, Watanabe will play the part of Mohr, TV Asahi reported. "The last time I was on stage was also the first time in about 13 years," Watanabe told a news conference. "I come back when people forget, like a cicada. Returning to the stage always means something very extraordinary as it created my basis as an actor."

© Japan Today