The director developed the play as her dissertation project at the East 15 Acting School within the University of Essex. Both the production team and the acting ensemble were made up of students and alumni of the school. The cast was truly international, with actors from the Czech Republic, USA, UK, China, Lithuania and Japan.

War With The Newts is an experimental satirical science fiction novel by Karel Čapek, written in 1935. It was first published as a sequel in Lidové noviny between 1935 and 1936, and the first book edition was published in 1936. The strongly allegorical story deals with the discovery of an intelligent race of newts, which mankind begins to exploit for its own needs, leading to their rebellion and eventually global war. For director Horimasu, this was her second production of this work, having staged the first one adapted for Japanese audiences in Tokyo in 2018.