Brief Biography
Originally trained as a zoologist, then as a theatre designer, Mamoru is now also a self-taught multimedia performance maker.
The performance works are rooted in his knowledge and experience in theatre design (set, costume and projection) as well as broad interests in 2D and 3D, gender and sexuality, parasitism and symbiosis, fairytales and evolution theories.
His solo pieces Pregnant?!, Into the Skirt (commissioned by Plateaux 2010, Mousonturm, Frankfurt), Journey from a Man to a Woman and a duo dance piece Projector/Conjector have toured in the UK and internationally to countries including Germany, Ireland, Portugal and the USA. Mamoru also makes short and intimate performances that have been shown in such diverse locations as the Victoria & Albert Museum and Brixton Market.
Mamoru has just made a short choreographical piece entitled One Man Show for the Place Prize, the biggest contemporary dance competition in the UK.
His theatre design work includes Mincemeat (Cardboard Citizens, Best Design, Evening Standard Theatre Awards), The Wind in the Willows (Open Air Theatre Regents Park) and The Pink Bits (Mapping4D, Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Award).
Mamoru is an Artsadmin associate artist.
To download his C.V., click here
Commissions & Awards
One Man Show (The Place Prize Commission, 2012)
Premiered at The Place. The development was also supported by National Theatre Studio and Artsadmin.
Alone in Cinema (Fierce Festival / Pilot Nights Commission, 2012)
Curated by Laura McDermott & Harun Morrison of Fierce. A multi-media performance piece made specifically for MAC (Midland Arts Centre)’s Cinema space.
Into the Skirt (Plateaux Festival / Mousonturm Commission, 2010)
Curated by Martin Baasch. A multimedia performance piece, premiered at Künstlerhaus Mousonturm.
Pregnant?! (SPILL Festival National Platform Commission, 2009)
A performance lecture with Powerpoint presentation. Shown at National Theatre Studio.
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Mincemeat (Best Design, Evening Standard Theatre Awards, 2009)
Cardboard Citizens's production. Site-specific design on a warehouse in Shoreditch, London.
The Pink Bits (Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Award, 2004)
Mapping4D’s production. Immersive design at Riverside Studios.
Publications
Behind the Scenes -- Contemporary Set Design
Editors : Tom Howells / Phoebe Adler, Black Dog Publishing 2012
Mamoru’s theatre design work is introduced in the book.
‘Von der Wichtigkeit, nicht ernst zu sein --
Die alternativen Genealogien in den Performances Mamoru Iriguchis’
Author: Philipp Schulte
A chapter in 'Subjekt: Theater Beiträge zur analytischen Theatralität'
Editors: Gerald Siegmund / Petra Bolte-Picker, pp. 259-271, Publisher: Peter Lang 2011
Author: Clara Carpanini (introduction of Mamoru’s practice and interview).
An article in D’Ars 2010 September issue D’Ars is Milan-based contemporary arts magazine.
British Council:: Performance in Profile
A booklet/ website to introduce and promote British performance artists.
Review Quotes
This work... is not at all 'just' a dance piece... dance is referenced in a beautifully techno-cuckoo way...It's also charmingly dead-pan, witty and inventive.
(Donald Hutera, dance writer on Projector/Conjector)
...as well as being absurdly hilarious, it's also very sweet. One of the most imaginative things you'll see this season.
(Lyndsey Winship, Time Out Dance editor on Projector/Conjector)
It’s definitely the product of a joyously exuberant mind....an absolute joy to watch.
(Josh Russell, ip1zine on Projector/Conjector)
Iriguchi’s wild imagination and rudimentary graphics could lead us anywhere...
(Peter Crawley, The Irish Times on PREGNANT?!)
Mamoru Iriguchi wove an intricate and moving tale of life, death and birth...
(Jon Pratty, The Guardian on PREGNANT?!)
...the experience is charmingly created and is worth a laugh or two
(Jake Orr, A Younger Theatre on This Headlight Is The Only Hope In The Dark)
Mamoru Iriguchi brilliantly remade the Shoreditch Cordy House into a bomb site, a refuge and the chilliest of morgues.
(Susannah Clapp, The Observer on Mincemeat)
it's particularly gratifying to see something beyond the mainstream gain recognition with Mamoru Iriguchi winning the best design award
(Lyn Gardner, The Guardian on Mincemeat)
Mamoru Iriguchi has created an ingenious set
(Robert Hewison, The Times on The Wind in the Willows)
