THE ONE NIGHT CASTLE STORY

The name "One Night Castle" is derived from Japanese history. In 1567, the war between East and West Japan raged. The great general Toyotomi Hideyoshi struggled to win the tiny, yet strategically vital town of Sunomata in central Japan. His solution, enlisting the help of the townspeople, was a miracle of human achievement. The opposing army woke to discover a fortified castle looking down on them from the hillside—it had been built during the night. It was called Ichiyajo or One Night Castle and was key in turning the tide of the war.

When Artistic Producer Leanne Koehn visited the castle while living in Japan with her husband and partner, James Rowley, this story of people gathering for a brief, intense time to create something with the potential to alter society forever struck her as the very embodiment of theatre. Another image the name has evoked which has a resounding relevance to theatre is that of building a sand castle that gets washed away with the tide during the night - in the morning, not a trace remains except archival photos and leftover flyers and posters...

One Night Castle Projects exists to create theatrical events of the highest standards; challenging, entertaining, relevant and viable, which bring together and nurture Vancouver’s talented emerging and established artists.

“The people I have gathered for this company have many things in common; I love their work, I love working with them, and all of them are very strong, accomplished individuals in their field. While some companies have a core group of people that wear many different hats in the course of a production, I believe that if I find people who have made their own hats and wear them with love, passion, and ferocity, they will bring this dedication to every project they choose to do and each one will help them gain momentum in the direction they want to go.” (Leanne Koehn, March 2004).

Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) is One Night Castle’s first production.