Correct me if I’m wrong, but…

our Aoteya Rakugo Club is probably the oldest English rakugo club outside of Japan.

I am aware that there have been a few groups of self-taught performers overseas, but our club has a strong connection to Japan though me. So it’s perhaps more like the oldest authentic-ish club of its kind (it will never be authentic because I am a bit too unconventional… sorry!).

For your information, the club was established on Sun 6 Oct 2019.

Please do let me know if your club is older than ours as we are really curious!

Last Saturday (20 March 2021), after 1 1/2 years since its conception, we finally had our first performance, which had originally been planned in March 2020.

Again, I, Eishi, claim it to be the first English rakugo performance produced by an overseas-based English rakugo club (until corrected)!

It was a small performance but a meaningful first step for us especially after going through the four strict lockdowns here in Auckland.

I am just so thankful that the members did not abandon rakugo after so many interruptions.

Thank you all those who have helped us reach this milestone!

We are looking forward to having more public performances together!