Masashi Suwa: There is no truck element at all, but I play the role of an old trucker who is a regular at the kushikatsu restaurant [Kituya] where the show takes place.

Kazunari Tosa: I play the role of an old pachinko player, and the only thing I have to say in the movie is "I played pachinko" (laughs). (Laughs) Actually, I don't play pachinko, so it may be difficult for me to play the role, but I would like to play the role by going to pachinko every morning and putting on my feelings of winning and losing that day. I would like to create a sense of irregularity in my performance.

Haruki Nakagawa: I play the owner of a ramen store. One of my memories of the first performance was that my Kansai dialect was quite suspicious in the questionnaire (laughs). (Laughs) I am from Nagoya, so I would like to be a little more careful with my Kansai dialect.

Riko Fujitani: I will be playing the role of Manatsu from [Kiteya]. It is a personal matter, but 8 years ago, when I participated in the main lecture of [Europe Planning] for the first time, it was in this "Kireketsukaru shinsekai," and as the person I was 8 years ago, I never dreamed that 8 years later I would be allowed to play the same role as a member of the theater company, so I want to do my best to be proud of myself 8 years ago. I would like to do my best to be proud of the person I was eight years ago. However, the troupe is new, so I will do my best to deliver a more powerful stage performance with the help of the strongest guest performers.

Munenori Nagano: I play the role of Torayan, a day laborer and occasional beggar who is a Hanshin fan. I believe this piece will eventually become a theater classic.

Moderator: Now let's hear from the guest performers.

Shintaro Kanemaru: I will do my best to make the audience who came to see the first performance think "I don't remember it being like this" or "It's so fun! I will do my best so that the audience who came to see the first performance will be freshly impressed.

Marie Machida: This is my first time to perform as a guest in a full-length production of "Europa Kikaku". I have been involved in several of your productions, but when the office contacted me to invite me to perform in the company's performance for the first time, I was so happy that I actually cried. I was really happy to be included among people I respect so much, and I was also very happy that they invited me. I will do my best to live up to their expectations.

Yoshinori Okada: I first met Mr. Ueda when he wrote a script for a drama when I was 30 years old. It has been more than 10 years since then, and while I have worked with the members of the company on videos and other different productions, I have been asking him to put me in the show for a long time. This year it finally came true, and I cried in the bathroom (laughs). (Laughs.) My role is that of an old man who works as a haircutter, a character that was also in the first performance.

Itao Itsuji: I play Manatsu's father. I've been holed up on the second floor for a long time. ［I don't really remember how I came to be involved with Europe Kikaku (laughs), but now that I think about it, I realize that I am here. When I saw the first performance, I was shocked that there was such a stupid theater company in Kyoto, in a good way. From that point on, I became very interested in them.

Moderator: Last but not least, please give us the writer/director, Mr. Ueda.

Makoto Ueda: The piece originally premiered in 2016, and at the time I always wanted to do something like Osaka comedy or Osaka humanistic comedy someday. It all started when I decided to make a piece about an old man in Osaka and a drone fighting. As I worked on the etude, I felt that I had created a magnificent and interesting work that was far from my initial conception, and I received a great deal of appreciation as I worked on it. So I had always had in my mind that this was a piece that I would someday revisit, and now I have the chance to do so with great enthusiasm. However, it is a very strong work, so it takes a lot of energy to recreate it. So, the guest performers we have invited this time are really the strongest.

The press conference was full of laughter from start to finish, and one could sense both the enthusiasm for the revival and the response in the rehearsal hall. How do Manatsu, the daughter of the kushikatsu shop "Kiteya," and the old men who gather at the store struggle against modern technology? Cynical yet compassionate, the film is both funny and heartwarming at the same time. Don't miss the 2024 version of "Kuruketsukaru shinsekai," which is enhanced by the personalities of the splendid guest cast.

In Kyoto, it will be performed at Kyoto Prefectural Center for Arts and Culture from September 5 (Thu) to 8 (Sun), 2024. In Kansai, it will also be performed in Osaka on October 12 (Sat) and 13 (Sun), 2024 [Sky Theater MBS]. General tickets go on sale Saturday, August 3. The show is very popular, so those who are interested should check it out as soon as possible!