Kinki International Dramatic Society (KIDS)
Dates
- Existence: 1981 - 1986
Biography
The Kinki International Dramatic Society (KIDS) was a not-for-profit amateur theatre organisation founded in 1981 by British husband and wife David and Anna Hale. At the time, David and Anna were working in the teaching profession in the Kansai region of Japan, thus naming KIDS 'Kinki', the old word for the 'Kansai'.
From 1981 to 1986, KIDS put on one production of short plays and two major productions every year in locations in Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe. When they left in 1986, KIDS had performed to audiences totalling over 10,000 people, mostly Japanese.
Members of KIDS were residents of Kansai and were native-speakers of English or were proficient in speaking English who performed plays written by English and American playwrights principally for the benefit of Japanese students and teachers of English to enable them to see contemporary English drama performed in its original language.