'Sumo' review — step into the ring of a hallowed sport
Read our review of Sumo off Broadway, a new play written by Lisa Sanaye Dring and directed by Ralph B. Peña at The Public Theater through March 30.
The image of a rikishi, or sumo wrestler, feels like a relatively ubiquitous one, but the intricacies of the sport itself — Japan’s national sport and a sacred ritual in the Shinto religion — are much less universally understood. But in Sumo at The Public Theater, playwright Lisa Sanaye Dring and director Ralph B. Peña pull back the curtain just a bit. Alongside 18-year-old protagonist Akio, we have the opportunity to learn about many facets of sumo, from the lofty mythological origins to grittier truths with the gentleness of a scalding pot of tea on bare skin.
Dring’s writing offers a fascinating, tender, and complicated glimpse into sumo culture in Japan, with nods to its traditional place in society and the reverence it inspires. “The original fighters did it in front of shrines for good harvest,” one character reflects. “And after the bomb blinded everything we once knew, the rikishi brought us back to ourselves.” This reverence is juxtaposed with corporate symbols Americans might recognize, such as when Mitsuo (David Shih) ascends to sumo’s highest rank of Yokozuna and is applauded while wearing traditional garb embroidered with the name of his sponsor, Nintendo, in big letters.
Sumo has several standout performances, notably Scott Keiji Takeda as the frustratingly impatient Akio and Ahmad Kamal as Ren, a stoic, impossibly strong older rikishi. While Akio is all impulsiveness and desperation, Ren’s energy is calming and steady. Not only is he one of the more formidable fighters, but he is also refreshingly surefooted about his romance with Fumio (Red Concepción), another rikishi who would rather compartmentalize their relationship. The three kannushi (Paco Tolson, Kris Bona, Viet Vo), or Shinto priests, who act as a sort of Greek chorus go-between for the audience, are another highlight.
Sumo’s character arcs are compelling, if somewhat predictable. The same could be said for its larger story arc, in which Akio, the reckless, chomping-at-the-bit ingénue weighs the differing advice from his many mentors before ultimately choosing the path of humbleness over hypermasculinity. That said, its predictability does not lessen the impact. Like in Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, the story of humility triumphing over toxicity always holds weight.
Sumo summary
In modern-day Japan, 18-year-old Akio joins a heya, a communal training stable for sumo wrestlers to eat, sleep, train, and breathe sumo. When his natural ambition is stifled by the rites of passage at entry level, he looks to the heya’s more senior rikishi for advice. Akio learns something from everyone, from a rikishi just above his own rank to the most senior Mitsuo, himself on the cusp of achieving sumo’s highest rank.
Hot-blooded, grieving, and with everything to prove, it’s only a matter of how Akio will incorporate these men’s advice, and the spirit of sumo, into his own inevitable rise.
What to expect at Sumo
Sumo wouldn’t be the semi-immersive experience that it is without the scenic design (Wilson Chin) and lighting design (Paul Whitaker). The set is relatively simple, with the only permanent feature being the dohyō - the circular ring inside which sumo matches are set, and where our rikishi train. But the gorgeously designed projections take the storytelling to new dimensions, whether they’re projecting win/loss tallies during a honbasho (professional sumo tournament) or providing a visual accompaniment to the stories of gods and spirits that often accompany sumo tradition.
Deepening the experience is the Taiko drumming performed by Shih-Wei Wu throughout the show’s 2-hour-and-20-minute runtime. From a balcony above the action, Wu’s drumming comes in at moments of high tension, talks of spirituality, and during the rikishi's trainings and fights. The drumming works both as a practical sound effect and to emphasize that we are peeking into a realm steeped in history and tradition only occupied by a select few.
What audiences are saying about Sumo
At the time of publication, Sumo has a 78% audience rating on Show-Score. Audience members praised the set, the lighting design, and the actor’s impressive dedication to the fight choreography.
- “Fascinating immersion into the culture of sumo. Great fight scenes with drumming.” -Show-Score user Wish I Could See Them All
- “If you thought Yoda was tough on Luke Skywalker, you haven’t seen Mitsuo with Akio yet.” -Show-Score user MrStrategery
- “How the actors are able to do these scenes physically every night is amazing. They must have trained a lot and I’m sure it’s physically very taxing.” -Show-Score user Bobbie4051
Read more audience reviews of Sumo on Show-Score.
Who should see Sumo
- Anyone interested in the action genre will appreciate the intense physicality of the training and especially the fighting in Sumo, made possible by fight choreographer/sumo consultant James Yaegashi and fight choreographer/intimacy coordinator Chelsea Pace.
- Sumo portrays Japanese culture delicately and accessibly, and anyone interested in learning about the sport of sumo couldn’t ask for a better jumping-off point than this play.
- Theatregoers drawn to underdog stories will love young, scrappy, and hungry Akio and the rest of the rikishi as they wrestle, literally and figuratively, with their own place in the hallowed sport of sumo.
Learn more about Sumo off Broadway
Sumo is an informative and lovingly detailed look into the life of a modern-day sumo wrestler that incorporates the universally accessible theme of society's relationship with masculinity.
Photo credit: Sumo off Broadway. (Photos by Joan Marcus)
Originally published on