A high-tech kabuki theatre, dedicated to the 400-year-old stylised kabuki-za performing art in Japan, is set to open in a 29-storey Tokyo office building in Tokyo's upscale Ginza shopping district next month.

The soon-to-be-opened kabuki theatre will be the fifth version of the theatre, and will boast the incorporation of some noteworthy high-tech fixes into the venue. Housed in the tallest skyscraper in the Ginza shopping district, the new theatre - with a history dating back to 1889 - will have four storeys.

According to the information shared by the theatre managers, the theatre - which will retain most of the elements of the original interior as well as the facade - will have the capacity to seat 1,800 people. There will be portable monitors to be used by the audience for reading subtitles which will explain the art form that, at times, is somewhat difficult to understand.

Initially, the `subtitles' service will be available only in the Japanese language; but, gradually, over the coming months, the service will be extended to include foreign language, starting with English.

One of the other attractions of the theatre is a 16.45 metre (54 feet) deep pit below the stage. The pit - which is four times bigger than the earlier pits - will essentially facilitate the emergence of props, actors and scenery from the bowels of the building.