Melly Still will direct Sputnik Sweetheart at Arcola theatre London this October, a play by Haruki Murakami and adapted by Bryony Lavery.
Sputnik Sweetheart tells the story of Sumire, a young Japanese writer who can’t find the words to write, who styles herself on Jack Kerouac and who falls head-over-heels in love with Miu, 17 years her senior.
But when Sumire goes missing off the shores of Greece, her best friend, K’s search for her unearths more questions than answers. Sputnik Sweetheart journeys through Tokyo, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, and an intangible space of shifting realities.
Murakami’s story is about doing whatever it takes to overcome loneliness and rest in certainty.
The Artiscape spoke to Millicent Wong who plays Sumire.
Wong trained at The Royal Central School of Speech & Drama. Her theatre credits include: Orlando (Garrick Theatre), Henry V (Donmar Warehouse), Shake My Bones (Royal Court).
What attracted you to the play Sputnik Sweetheart?
Wong: I’d never read a Murakami novel before this, so reading Sputnik Sweetheart initially made me go “…?????”, but that really intrigued me and I found myself thinking about it for days after. I love stories that don’t tie things up neatly or that feel as though there’s some secret behind the plot you haven’t quite got on your first read, and the characters are looking at you – forehead slightly creased – refusing to spell things out.
Magical-realism wasn’t something I’d ever heard of, but I loved how it felt like the story was encouraging my brain to think in diagonals and spirals, and I just felt like I had to explore how such a thing could be transposed to the stage. Also, the way the characters speak of love and loving is so true and lyrical at the same time, and I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was a sense of loneliness – of the spaces “between” – and connection throughout the story that I resonated with.
I still don’t fully know what this play is about but I’m starting to think that there’s something quite freeing in accepting that my questions may be left unanswered!
Can you tell us about the character you play?
Wong: Sumire wants to write the novel to end all novels for herself. Badly. Her mind is exploding with stories and she reminds me of a moving squiggle. The beatnik movement is a major influence for her, and you can hear their influence sometimes in the way she speaks. I think she feels things deeply and sometimes the depth of those feelings surprises and scares her, but I also think she’s so brave because she forges ahead in spite of her fears.
What are you most looking forward to about performing in this play?
Wong: The challenge of bringing the language that Murakami has written and Bryony Lavery has so wonderfully adapted to life. The play feels like a piece of music that somehow exists in a 4D format? It sometimes loops or makes unexpected jumps. And Melly (the director) and the cast have really developed a physical language unlike anything I’ve done in theatre before. I love exploring new ways of performing and I’m constantly discovering that not everything needs to be – or is sometimes best – expressed with words.
What do you think an audience at the Arcola will enjoy about the play?
Wong: The kind of nebulous journey of it all. It’s a literal story that sidesteps into a surreal space, and I think I’d encourage everyone coming to see it to just go “???” and then to let go of the need to grasp every aspect of it. All the characters have so much of themselves they want to give and be given, and there are some real moments of tenderness and connection, and I hope the audience will be able to see glimpses of themselves in all of them and, for a brief moment, allow themselves to be pulled into the play’s orbit.
Sputnik Sweetheart will be showing at The Arcola Theatre in Dalston London from 26 October – 25 November 2023.
