RONiN
Yukiko Masui
About RONiN
LIMITED EARLY BIRD TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE*
A fearless woman swordfighter faces off against powerful adversaries, challenging both herself and those who stand in her path.
Inspired by the legacy of Japan's ronin – masterless samurai who lived by their own code – this performance combines dance, swordplay, and cutting-edge digital projections to tell the story of an unlikely hero navigating honour, resilience and survival in a male-dominated world. Through a captivating blend of movement and technology, RONiN takes audiences through Japan’s four seasons, from spring's cherry blossoms to winter's silent snowfall, creating an anime-inspired realm that merges ancient traditions with modern visual storytelling.
RONiN is a new collaboration between award-winning choreographer Yukiko Masui and digital artist Barret Hodgson, produced by The Place.
*The Early Bird discount will apply at checkout.
About Yukiko Masui
Yukiko Masui is a Tokyo-born, London-based choreographer and movement director. She is a recipient of the Choreography Award from DanceXchange and the Akram Khan Mentoring Award from Sky Arts, and is currently a Work Place Artist at The Place.
Masui began her training in Hip Hop, Ballroom and Latin dance in Tokyo, developing a distinctive movement language rooted in musicality and energy. She later moved to London to study contemporary dance, completing her MA with Transitions Dance Company, and has since built a career spanning theatre, contemporary dance, film, and commercial work.
In the world of contemporary dance, Masui’s choreography credits include SAY Something(National Dance Company Wales), SAY:AF (Dance Umbrella), The Night Is Darkest Just Before the Dawn (National Youth Dance Wales at Sadler’s Wells), 153’ 8s (Emergence Dance Company), Femme Spreading (Norrdans), and / (The Place & HKAPA). Her own creations — including Unbox, It Takes Two Too, 33, Falling Family, and RONiN 0— have been performed internationally, touring to venues such as The Place, Korzo, Norrlands Opera, Birmingham Hippodrome and more. Her work has been praised by The Guardian’s Sanjoy Roy as creating “performances that make you sit up and pay unwavering attention.”
Her recent theatre and musical choreography credits include Jekyll and Hyde (Umeda Theatre, Tokyo), Miss Julie(New Earth Theatre), Toy Show The Musical (RTE, Dublin Convention Centre), Say Yes to Tess (Leeds Playhouse), Guy: A New Musical (The Bunker), and A Little Night Music(Storyhouse). She has also worked on Othello (R&D) at Shakespeare’s Globe, produced by New Earth Theatre.
As a performer, Masui has appeared with Agudo Dance Company, Cathy Waller Company,Rhiannon Faith and TRIBE, as well as in projects for Sadler’s Wells, The Barbican, and Curve Theatre. She also served as Dance Captain for the Commonwealth Opening Ceremony. Her commercial and screen credits include work for The Marvels (Marvel Studios), Nike, Coldplay, So You Think You Can Dance (UK), and Ministry of Sound.
Masui is the co-founder of SAY, a dynamic performance duo whose work the album has toured internationally. SAY has collaborated with director Jamie Lloyd as movement directors on Romeo & Juliet (West End, starring Tom Holland) and The Effect (National Theatre and The Shed, New York).
About Barret Hodgson
Barret Hodgson is a video artist and digital projection designer whose work explores the transformative interplay of light, architecture, and performance. As the founder of Vent Media, he has developed a distinctive practice that blends creative vision with technical mastery, producing immersive environments for live performance, large-scale architectural projection, and site-specific installation.
With a master’s in Collaborative Arts Practice from Nottingham Trent University, Barret has built an extensive portfolio across theatre, dance, opera, and music, working closely with choreographers, composers, and visual artists to create experiences that are both conceptually rich and emotionally resonant. His projects often examine how projection can reframe the perception of space, revealing hidden layers of history, narrative, and atmosphere.
He has worked and collaborated with a broad range of institutions and companies, including the BBC, 59 Productions, Sadler’s Wells, DreamThinkSpeak, Warp Films, Studio Wayne McGregor, and Glastonbury Festival. His work has been presented internationally at the Venice Biennale, the Guggenheim Bilbao, and venues across Europe, Asia, and North America.
An award-winning artist, Barret continues to push the boundaries of projection design, integrating evolving technologies with a sensitivity to context and collaboration to craft memorable, thought-provoking works.
Cast & Creatives
Choreographer: Yukiko Masui
Digital Artist: Barret Hodgson
Composer: Ruth Chan
Sword and Stunt Specialist: Kashmir Leese
Dramaturg: Lou Cope
Supporting Writer: Si Rawlinson
Performers: Cher Nicolette, Jacob Lang, Nathan Bartman
Credits
RONiN is commissioned and co-produced by The Place, and co-commissioned by DanceEast, Dance City and The Gillian Dickinson Trust.
Supported using public funding by Arts Council England, Cockayne - Grants for the Arts, The London Community Foundation,The Sasakawa Foundation and Kakilang.
