( interview kento for barairo no frontier - confetti october 2015 )

[devilism]

Tradition or love. Playing a troubled young English aristocrat, it's Ono Kento's first leading part.

Hiding his emotions in the depths of his heart until they're confessed, seeking for a way of acting that doesn't end at the four emotions

(note: the "four emotions" are joy, anger, pathos and humor, generally seen as the basic four emotions for acting etc.)

The year 1918, when the first World War ended. A stage play that unfolds the collapsing aristocratic society of England, "Rose-colored frontier - singing a song for your love.." The young actor Ono Kento tackles the role of the young English aristrocrat Eddie.

The role of Eddie has love, hatred, anger, etc. He's a character with various emotions fighting inside of him. I'm glad that I was able to get such a role. It would be no good if I didn't study the things and structure of society of London in that time, so there's a lot of things to do even before practice. (laughs)

When you heard that you were picked to play the role of Eddie, your immediate reply was "I want to go ahead and express various emotions!"

Unlike Eddie, I myself am a relatively detached and dry kind of person. I've played various roles before that gave off a cool sort of feeling, so now I could shake myself free from that. The human emotions suit Eddie, but now I'm able to not just show those four emotions, but to also finely express complex feelings. I imagine I will suffer during practice, because I think I'll have to consider many things while forming this role, but I want to face it with all I've got.

Eddie can't get used to the fact that the aristocratic society has collapsed, and he tries to get his original life back somehow. His love with his fiancée also isn't going smoothly and causes him worry, but then a man appears before him calling himself Butler, who invites him to another world called "frontier" with a beautiful singing voice. Butler is being played by Izumi Yohei-san, who often performs in musicals etc.

Although he is greatly my senior, I was able to have very amiable contact with him. He's very much like an older brother. Since I'm playing the lead part, I think it's a kind of situation where I desperately want to keep up with Izumi-san and the rest of the cast. I plan to keep on repeatedly practicing while relying on my seniors.

Love plays an important part in the story, which is a first time experience for Ono. The opposing role, Anna, is played by Sakurano Ayane-san, who is a senior in playing female roles for Takarazuka.

(note: takarazuka is an all-female musical theater troupe from japan.)

Since love is certainly part of anyone's life, I think it's the key to moving the hearts of many people. From now on I want to do these kind of plays more often. I'll accept the encouragement I've received from everyone whole-heartedly and I'll make sure to improve my acting even more.

With shining eyes, Ono passionately talks about his ambitions for stage plays. Our expectations have increased to see his earnest power bloom on the stage.

( link to the original )