Stylishly idiosyncratic, director Toshiki Okada is known for crafting sharp and visually vibrant works of theater out of the most ordinary of interactions. In Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech, his performers wrestle with issues as seemingly banal as selecting a restaurant for dinner or the workings of an office climate control system, and as awkward as the departure of a young co-worker. But deadpan dialogue is layered with an elaborate and evocative gestural vocabulary, adding humor and depth to the proceedings. Each section of Hot Pepper is marked by a distinct musical backdrop, while Okada brilliantly builds his complex choreographic alchemy and dynamic, action-driven vision that has been celebrated at festivals worldwide.

Written and directed by Toshiki Okada

In Japanese with English titles.

RUN TIME: 70 minutes

LOCATION: LATC: Theater 1

Los Angeles Theatre Center

514 South Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013 | Map

PARKING: $5–6 event parking at several locations off Main and 6th Streets.