Natsuko Mineghishi delivers an impressive performance in Back at the Dojo.
"The surprise package is performer and martial artist Natsuko Mineghishi, a real-life karate black belt (she runs her own dojo in Melbourne) and an accomplished singer.Her sensei is pure gravitas and her power and speed – demonstrated in a bout with actor and karate practitioner Dara Clear playing a brown-belted wise guy – electrifies the room. Stage fights don't always convince. This one had the room gripped and close to cheering."
All the performers take part in martial arts sessions, led by a sensei, Natsuko Mineghishi, whose movement and authority take over the show in her scenes. She sings strongly, too
A diminutive but commanding presence, plays Danny’s sensei on stage and makes the theme of discipline and honour tangible. Having a real sensei there leading a fair amount of karate (having trained the cast in the basics with a class each day during rehearsals) gives the play a visceral physicality and exhilarating energy. The crack of Mineghishi’s bamboo cane across the younger Danny’s body makes you wince, while a fight between the sensei and a brown belt is thrilling.
