Theatre Review: RONiN at Lakeside Arts

Walking into Lakeside Arts I deliberately left the show as a mystery. What actually unfolded over the next ninety minutes was something far harder to categorise. RONiN is a performance that draws on the legacy of Japan’s ronin and transforms this story through a female lens.

Yukiko Masui's collaboration with digital artist Barret Hodgson transforms the performance space entirely. Projections consume every surface: walls, floor, ceiling, all of it alive. Cherry blossoms drift through the air. Lava pools beneath dancing feet. A cold moon bleeds into a burning sun. The effect isn't decorative but rather structural building into the elaborate creation of this world.

At the centre of this narrative is Cher Nicolette Ho, whose performance carries the quiet authority the piece demands. Her warrior moves through the depiction of Japan's four seasons, pursued and protected in unpredictable measure by Nathan Bartman and Jacob Lang; two figures whose roles as enemy or ally frequently change throughout. Furthermore, the swordplay sequences are extraordinary, each piece of movement is amplified by the long arc of the blade cutting through projected light; there is an exceptional level of detail maintained throughout. 

However, the most striking part about RONiN is the use of sound, including the moments of stillness. There are several parts throughout when the music drops and Cher stands. In a spectacular way, I felt both captivated and uncomfortable.  I could see the reactions amongst the audience as we all seemed to be thrown by this reflective moment, a feeling that felt somewhat meditative.

The second act loses some of that precision — the narrative, always loose, spreads a little thin after an interval that ends on a genuinely arresting image, but the world Masui and Hodgson have built is absorbing enough that momentum is rarely lost for long.

RONiN is the type of performance that showcases the brilliance across every discipline within theatre. Sound design, lighting, digital art, choreography and so much more are operated at the highest level. I have never seen a performance like this, and I’m certain I probably won’t. RONiN blends brilliance and innovation that cannot be replicated elsewhere.

RONiN played at Lakeside Arts on Saturday 23 May 2026.