Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui | Hong Kong Arts Festival and The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust co-presenting No Limits 2026: Sleeping Fires - Two Blind Women in the Snowy Tokugawa Nights by Kuro Tanino

Description

“No Limits” Asia Commissions

A sensory evocation of friendship, warmth and the struggle for belonging

Set in the feudal Tempō era, Sleeping Fires tells the story of blind female massage therapist Iku and her young apprentice Saya. Through poetic layering of soundscapes, dialogue, gesture and scent, the newly commissioned theatre piece depicts the hardships and pleasures of the women’s day-to-day life, and the complex issues of trust, secrecy and suspicion experienced by the inhabitants of the remote, snow-covered mountain village where they live. Contrasting the bonds of tradition and the women’s pursuit of independence and belonging, the piece portrays their friendship and struggles, and the harshness and beauty of the natural world around them.

Sleeping Fires is the latest work by renowned theatre director Kuro Tanino (Mother, No Limits 2019; Fortress of Smiles, No Limits 2023). Commissioned by No Limits, and performed on stage by Tanino’s Niwa Gekidan Penino theatre company, the work takes inspiration from the lived experiences of visually impaired people and classic works of literature and film, and delivers a lyrical meditation on ageing, memory, sensory experience and the autonomous physical body. The performance in Hong Kong marks its world premiere.

Produced by: Niwa Gekidan Penino

Playwright and Director: Kuro Tanino

Performers: Susumu Ogata, Rio Sekiba, Takao Shibata,

Natsue Hyakumoto, Ineko Kawai

27 March, 2026 Fri 7:45pm; 28 March, 2026 Sat 2:45pm

* Post-performance Meet-the-Artist Session