Buddha in the Attic | A One-Act Play Based on the Novel by Julie Otsuka
“Buddha in the Attic” – a story about women who left home in search of a better life
What happens when you leave for the other side of the world hoping for a new life, only to find yourself having to rediscover not only your home, but also who you are?
On October 11, Solo Theatre invites audiences to the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre for “Buddha in the Attic”, a one-act play directed by Birutė Mar and based on the novel by Japanese American writer Julie Otsuka.
The play tells the story of young Japanese women who travelled to America at the beginning of the 20th century to marry men they knew only from photographs. They set off on their long journey dreaming of love and a better life, but instead encounter difficult adaptation, loneliness, an unfamiliar environment, and historical events that would change the lives of thousands.
It is a story about migration, identity, memory, and the struggle to preserve one’s roots in a world where everything around you is constantly changing. Although the story is set in the early 20th century, it raises questions that remain relevant today: what does it mean to leave home, start a life somewhere else, and hold on to who you are?
On stage, the aesthetics of traditional Japanese theatre merge with movement, dance, text, and live music. Birutė Mar’s performance becomes a poetic journey through the women’s memories, hopes, losses, and quietly endured history.
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