Hiromoto Ida could have easily spent his artistic career as a dancer and actor in Vancouver. Back in the 1990s, he was based in B.C.’s biggest city and was performing with Karen Jamieson Dance. But a tour of the Kootenays opened his eyes to this beauty and tranquility of southwestern B.C. So, after getting married, Ida and his wife moved to Nelson, where he launched his Ichigo Ichieh New Theatre Company in 2006.
Next month, Ida will be back in Vancouver for his dance-theatre show, Vacant Lot, which will be at the Firehall Arts Centre from October 22 to 25. He created, directs, and performs in this production. It’s based on a play called Sarachi by contemporary Japanese theatre artist Shogo Ota.
The original play was about a long-married couple who visit a vacant lot where their home used to stand. As the couple shares memories, they realize how ephemeral and fragile their existence is.
Nelson dance and theatre artist Lindsay Clague is the other performer, as well as assistant director. According to a Firehall Arts Centre news release, Ida and Clague will embody the married couple in Ota’s play through movement, dialogue, and stillness.
“This work balances on the edge between spoken theatre and dance theatre, exploring elements of both, revealing the loneliness of human existence and our longing to connect to each other and to the universe,” the Firehall Arts Centre states. “While the overarching themes are existential, Vacant Lot humorously celebrates the ordinary, undocumented moments in everyday life.”
In an interview with the Nelson Star last year, Ida said that Vacant Lot is about 70 percent theatre and 30 percent dance.
Ida is far humbler than Shōgun character
For Ida, this show marks a return to the Firehall Arts Centre in Vancouver’s historic Paueru Gai district. In 2022, he performed his solo dance piece, Homecoming, in the 119-year-old historic building as part of the Powell Street Festival. Since then, Ida was cast as Lord Kiyama in the blockbuster FX on Hulu miniseries Shōgun, which was mostly filmed in British Columbia.
Earlier year, Ida won a Screen Actors Guild Award—with 13 other cast members of Shōgun—for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. In seven episodes, Ida played a warlord and wealthiest member of the Council of Regents. His character, Lord Kiyama, converted to Catholicism so that he could form a strong trading relationship with the Portuguese, who were the first Europeans to establish a colony in East Asia.
Ida was born in Japan and speaks Japanese. However, in real life, he is far humbler than his battle-hardened Shōgun character.
In an interview with the Georgia Straight in 2022, Ida revealed that as a performer, he thinks of himself as an unselfish host at a Japanese tea ceremony. His primary goal is looking after his visitors.
“I always like to say this is for the guest—this is for the audience,” Ida told the Straight at the time. “It’s not about me.”
The Firehall Arts Centre will present Hiromoto Ida’s Vacant Lot from October 22 to 25. For tickets and more information, visit the Firehall Arts Centre website. Follow Pancouver on X @PancouverMedia and Bluesky @pancouver.bsky.social. Pancouver is also on Instagram @PancouverMedia.
