about BBT

Our History

Stuart
Stuart
Yoko
Yoko

BBT was established in 1991 by Yoko Toyozaki and Stuart Varnam-Atkin after the disbanding of Za Gaijin theatre company, which was a re-incarnation of the Albion-za troupe that we operated in the 1980s. Yoko and Stuart began working together in 1983, when Albion-za still used a tiny theatre space in an old building in Ichibancho, Tokyo. Since the early 1990s, the focus of our work has moved away from live theatre to a variety of activities closely connected to the media, especially writing, translating, narrating and interpreting projects.

Our Name

BIRMINGHAMBIRMINGHAM, Britain’s second city, is where Stuart was born. The literal meaning of BRAINS TRUST (‘brain trust’ in American English) is a ‘think-tank’, a focus for ideas and positive discussion. But we also liked the nuance of those we work with being able to ‘trust’ our ‘brains’—in other words, to believe in our ideas and actions!

Company profile

Name: Birmingham Brains Trust (BBT)
Established: 28 March 1991
Address: 3-6-22-401 Wakabayashi, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 154-0023
Tel/Fax: 81-(0)3-3418-3474
e-mails: e-mail

pagetop